TRANSPORT

Congestion Charging

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on congestion charging in metropolitan areas outside London.

Alistair Darling: Apart from Durham County Council, whose scheme order was approved on 24 September 2002, no other local authority in England has submitted either a road user charging or a workplace parking levy scheme order for my confirmation.

Congestion Charging

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment he has made of the effect (a) congestion charging and (b) motorway road pricing may have on (i) road safety and (ii) congestion.

Alistair Darling: The responsibility for developing urban congestion charging schemes lies with local authorities. We would expect local authorities to evaluate the impact of any proposed schemes on road safety and congestion, among other things.
	At the national level we recognise the need for action to tackle congestion, but believe that the UK must have a proper debate before any decisions are taken. We need to look carefully at the implications of any national level road pricing, including the effects on road safety and congestion.

Level Crossings

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions he has had with Network Rail on the maintenance of level crossings.

David Jamieson: None. I understand that the Health and Safety Executive's Railway Inspectorate have ongoing discussions at local and national level about safety arrangements; and that Network Rail has recently revised its level crossing management strategy to ensure that the risks associated with usage are reduced to the lowest level that is reasonably practicable.

Potters Bar Rail Crash

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he plans to make a full response to the recent Health and Safety Executive report into the Potters Bar rail disaster.

Alistair Darling: The next stage is for the Health and Safety Executive's Railway Inspectorate to agree with Network Rail and others a strategy, including a timetable, for addressing the recommendations in the report. This will be published.

Bus Services (Disabled Access)

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions his Department has had with bus companies about improvements in the accessibility of bus services for disabled people.

David Jamieson: We maintain a close dialogue with industry to ensure that Regulations which require all buses and coaches on local services to be accessible by 2020 are working effectively. Also, we have regular discussions with operators on meeting targets, including one for 50 per cent. of buses to be accessible by 2010.

Rail Policy

Win Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to visit Cefn Cribwr as part of his assessment of overall rail policy objectives.

David Jamieson: There are no current plans for Ministers to visit Cefn Cribwr.

Rail Services (Cotswolds)

David Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent representations he has received about rail services on the Cotswold Line; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: No such representations have been received.

A50 (Stoke-on-Trent)

George Stevenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the (a) original projected total cost and (b) the final cost of Phases 1a, 1b and 2 of the A50 road construction in Stoke-on-Trent was.

David Jamieson: I have asked the Chief Executive of the Highways Agency, Tim Matthews, to write to my hon. Friend.
	Letter from Tim Matthews to Mr. Stevenson, dated 17 June 2003
	I have been asked by the Transport Minister, David Jamieson, to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the original and final costs of Phases 1A, 1B and 2 of the A50 road construction in Stoke-on-Trent.
	The A50 Blythe Bridge to Queensway scheme was constructed under separate contracts for each of the 3 phases. The costs were as follows:
	
		£ million
		
			  Original tender cost Final outturn cost 
		
		
			 Phase 1A 23.072 41.815 
			 Phase IB 28.414 50.015 
			 Phase 2 21.307 30.706 
		
	
	If you would like further information, the Agency's Project Sponsor for the A50 scheme is Frank Hayes He can be contacted at our offices at Broadway, Broad Street, Birmingham B15 1BL, or by telephone on 0121 678 8382.

Air Transport

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish the proposed locations for holding stacks resulting from (a) a new close parallel runway, (b) a new wide spaced runway and (c) two new runways at Gatwick Airport.

David Jamieson: The South East and East of England Regional Air Services study (SERAS) analysis has not attempted to identify proposed locations of holding stacks for any of the published consultation options. For all options, the SERAS noise appraisal required nominal aircraft departure and arrival routes to be drawn up.
	If the air transport White Paper supports any option, and as part of any detailed design and project definition, additional work would be needed to optimise these routes and the air traffic control arrangements more generally.

Air Transport

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the effect on the volume of traffic on (a) the M25, (b) the M23 and (c) other roads of (i) a new close parallel runway, (ii) a new wide spaced runway and (iii) two new runways at Gatwick Airport.

David Jamieson: The South East and East of England Regional Air Services Study (SERAS) included an assessment of the type of road and rail infrastructure that would be needed both to connect the airport options to the strategic network and the type and scale of improvements that might be required on the strategic network.
	The results of these appraisals for the Gatwick options are summarised in "The Future Development of Air Transport in the United Kingdom: South East (second edition)" main consultation document, sections 8.16 to 8.20. Further details are contained in chapter 8.5 of the SERAS Stage Two Appraisal Findings report.
	Copies of these documents are available in the Libraries of the House.

Air Transport

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will commission an independent review of industry-funded research on air quality issues relating to his consultation on the future development of air transport in the South East.

David Jamieson: Recent research into the air quality situation at Heathrow Airport is being published by British Airways and BAA plc as part of their responses to the Government's consultation on the future development of air transport in South East England. This new research will be assessed rigorously by the Government as part of the overall analysis of consultation responses.

Children's Car Seats

Alan Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent representations the Department has received about the criteria for assessing the safety of children's car seats; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Darling: The Department has received no recent representations regarding the criteria for assessing the safety of child restraints. However, the Department is active in its support for activities contributing to improved child restraint standards. As representatives of the UK in the UNECE Group of Experts on passive safety, we argued successfully in Europe for the most effective requirements for the universal version of ISOFix including the provision of top tethers. This will offer a significant step in improved child restraints.

Children's Car Seats

Alan Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the Department collates statistics about injuries to children while in car seats; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Darling: Information regarding injuries to children travelling in child restraints is not collected nationally in the official statistics. However, the clear road safety message from research is that child restraints are a very effective means of protecting children in cars.

Compulsory Purchase

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what compensation is available to tenants of landowners whose land is compulsorily purchased for a new road scheme; and how this may be claimed.

David Jamieson: Compensation payable to tenants where the landowner's interest has been compulsorily acquired for a new road scheme depends on the nature of the tenancy, that is, whether it is residential or agricultural and its duration. Generally, a tenant is entitled to compensation for the unexpired term of the tenancy and any other loss of injury sustained as a result. The acquiring authority will serve notice on the tenant and invite him/her to submit a claim for compensation.
	I am arranging for copies of three booklets from the Compulsory Purchase and Compensation series to be placed in the Library, which contain information on the compulsory purchase procedure and rights to compensation.
	They are:
	Booklet 1—Compulsory Purchase Procedure
	Booklet 2—Compensation to Agricultural Owners and Occupiers
	Booklet 4—Compensation to Residential Owners and Occupiers

Correspondence

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for North Shropshire dated 29 April about improvements to the A5 and A483.

David Jamieson: My right hon. Friend, the then Minister for State for Transport (Mr. Spellar) wrote on 13 June 2003.

Cycles

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will introduce a statutory requirement for train companies to provide a minimum number of cycle storage spaces relative to passenger capacity on commuter rail services; and if he will make a statement on the Government's plans to develop an integrated rail and cycle transport strategy.

David Jamieson: The Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) is currently considering, together with the National Cycling Strategy Board, ways to improve facilities for cyclists at stations and on trains. It will hold a consultation exercise on its proposals in due course. The SRA is expected, in examining proposals for new or replacement passenger rail franchises, to have regard to delivery of the 10-Year Plan for Transport, which sets out the Government's aims to improve integration between modes and to triple the number of cycling trips by 2010.

Driving Standards Agency

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to ensure that the Driving Standards Agency introduces the new requirements under the Second EC Driving Licence Directive as an add on to the existing UK arrangements for motorcycle tests; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: European legislation adopted in 2000 requires Member States to conduct practical motorcycling tests that include extra and more demanding specific exercises than are currently contained in the UK test, in particular the inclusion of higher speed manoeuvring and braking exercises. Member States were required to implement these higher testing standards no later than October 2005, though the European Commission have indicated that they will shortly be bringing forward amending legislation that will allow a further three years for implementation.
	We consulted in 2001 about the new European driving test standards, which affect theory as well as practical tests, plus tests taken by learners for other types of motor vehicle. The responses suggested that that the new higher speed exercises in the motorcycling test could only be tested safely and to a common standard off the public road.
	Making provision for an off-road element in the motorcycling test would have significant estates and expenditure implications for the Driving Standards Agency. Therefore in 2002 we undertook further consultation about possible service delivery options involving both DSA and non-DSA delivery. The consultation period closed in April, and the responses are being analysed. We intend to announce our decisions later this year. These decisions will in due course be given effect in the domestic regulations that set out the driving test requirements.

Kyoto Agreement

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures his Department is taking to contribute to the Government's implementation of the Kyoto Agreement.

David Jamieson: The transport sector has an important contribution to make towards helping the Government to meet its Kyoto commitments. The 10 Year Plan for Transport, published in July 2000, envisaged a reduction in emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the transport sector over the current decade, and some significant reductions against projected emissions of greenhouse gases have already been, or are being, achieved. The progress report on the 10 Year Plan, published in December 2002, showed a small reduction in CO2 emissions from road transport in the UK in each of the last two years, following a generally rising trend through the 1990s.
	The Government's plans for moving towards a low carbon transport economy are set out in the Powering Future Vehicles Strategy, published in July 2002, and in the transport chapter of the Energy White Paper, published in February 2003. Central to these plans are the voluntary agreements with car manufacturers which are set, by 2008, to reduce average CO2 emissions from new cars by 25 per cent. against 1995 levels.
	In developing transport policy, we give due weight to the need to limit emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants. The Kyoto agreement treats emissions from international and domestic transport somewhat differently. The forthcoming Air Transport White Paper and in the review of the Transport 10 Year Plan in particular will be taking account of the contribution the sector can make to helping meet the UK's domestic climate change commitments. The Department is also taking a leading role in the discussions required by the Kyoto agreement within the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO), on how best to limit or reduce emissions from international aviation and shipping respectively.

Mail Transportation

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the relative costs of transporting freight by (a) road, (b) rail and (c) air, with particular reference to the transport of mail in the UK.

David Jamieson: This is a matter for Royal Mail.

Motor Cycles

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what action his Department has taken to ensure that local authorities introduce secure parking for motorcycles following his Department's publication of a motorcycle parking traffic advisory leaflet in 2002; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: The motorcycle parking traffic advisory leaflet was sent out to all highway authorities. It is, however, for individual highway authority to decide whether to provide secure parking or not, depending on local circumstances.

National Travel Survey

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his answer of 3 June, Official Report, column 172W, on the National Travel Survey, if he will break down the information provided by region.

David Jamieson: Sample sizes from the National Travel Survey (NTS) are too small to provide the requested detail and information by Government Office Region is only available from 199294. Some summary tables by region for 199294 and 19992001 will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Redhill Aerodrome

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the cost of constructing (a) a road link to the M23 from Redhill Aerodrome and (b) a rail link from Redhill Aerodrome to Gatwick station; and what discussions he has had with Redhill Aerodrome Ventures as to who would meet the cost of these projects were approval to be given for the present proposals to expand Redhill Aerodrome.

David Jamieson: holding answer 16 June 2003
	We have made no such estimates or held discussions with Redhill Aerodrome Ltd about who might meet the costs of these projects. Chapter 17 of The Future Development of Air Transport in the United Kingdom (South East) consultation document sets out the broad surface access funding principles.

Regulatory Impact Analysis

Jimmy Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his answer of 9 June, Official Report, column 593W, on the equal treatment and non-discrimination directive, what the results of the Regulatory Impact Analysis was; and if he will make a statement on how the EU Directive on equal treatment and non-discrimination will affect the recruitment of foreign seafarers and the UK Ship Register.

David Jamieson: The Draft Race Relations Act 1976 (Seamen Recruited Abroad) Order 2003 forms part of the implementation of the EC Article 13 Race Directive. A Regulatory ImpactAssessment was carried out. A total repeal of Section 9 of the Race Relations Act1976 was estimated to result in additional, annual wage costs to employers of around 40.5 million. Industry estimates, supported by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, indicated that up to 400 ships would leave the UK flag if a total repeal of Section 9 were to proceed. To revise Section 9 of the RRA 1976 was estimated to present the shipping industry with negligible additional costs and to protect the substantial increases in the UK flagged fleet that we have secured in recent years.
	The proposals go beyond the requirements of the Directive: the amendment will prohibit discrimination on the basis of colour and national origins as well as on the basis of racial and ethnic origins as required by the Directive. This will provide more protection under the Race Relations Act 1976 to foreign seafarers recruited abroad to serve on UK flagged ships that will enter UK territorial waters.

Roadworks

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps were taken to co-ordinate the road works being carried out on the M1 Motorway north of Junction 26 with those under way south of Junction 25 on the same motorway.

Alistair Darling: I have asked the Chief Executive of the Highways Agency, Tim Matthews, to write to the right hon. Member.
	Letter from Tim Matthews to Mr. Greg Knight, dated 17 June 2003
	I have been asked by the Secretary of State for Transport to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the co-ordination of roadworks on the M1 Motorway north of Junction 26 and south of Junction 25.
	There are currently two major sets of roadworks in progress between Junctions 24 and 27 of the M1. These are the Junction 24 to 25 maintenance scheme and a project to install an improved motorway communications system between Junctions 24 and 27. As David York mentioned in his letter of 9th April in response to your previous question on this subject, the two schemes were combined in order to co-ordinate the work and minimise disruption to road users.
	Both schemes were awarded to the same contractor, Geoffrey Osborne Ltd. As I am sure you will appreciate, there are advantages with this approach. As well as economies of scale, the work can be more efficiently organised and the contractor is allowed greater flexibility to co-ordinate the different type of work involved and reduce the length of time taken to complete the contract.
	The maintenance scheme is now due for completion in August and the communications work in Spring 2004. I should also mention that work to provide noise barriers and safety fencing at Junction 28 is due to start in late July and last for about 12 weeks. This will involve occasional night time closures of lane 1 with an associated 50 mph speed limit.
	If you would like further information, Iftikhar Mir, the Agency's Route Manager for this part of the M1, would be pleased to help. He can be contacted at our offices at Broadway, Broad Street, Birmingham, B15 1BL, or by telephone on 0121 678 8025.

Roadworks

Parmjit Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what reason highway authorities are not obliged to record their roadworks in the same way as utility companies; and what plans he has to ensure that all roadworks are recorded in the same way.

David Jamieson: The New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 places a range of requirements on utility companies concerning the recording of their works in the street. The Code of Practice for Maintenance Management, published in 2001, governs, among other things, the recording by highway authorities of their works.
	We are reviewing what changes might usefully be made to the current legislative regime for highway authority and utility works in order to ensure that they are carried out more efficiently and to reduce the disruption that they cause. We intend bringing forward a Traffic Management Bill, incorporating appropriate changes, once parliamentary time allows.

Rural Transport

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he last met the Chairman of the Countryside Agency to discuss rural proofing.

David Jamieson: I refer to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for Rural Affairs on 12 June 2003, Official Report, column 1017W.

South Hampshire Rapid Transit System

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the South Hampshire Rapid Transit System.

David Jamieson: When we approved this scheme in March 2001, we said that if the public sector funding requirement rose above a specified limit we would need to consider all available options, including whether the project should proceed as currently planned. Cost estimates have now risen substantially, and a review of the options is under way.

Telecommunications (Fines)

Parmjit Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many fines have been levied on telecommunication companies under section 74 of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 in each year since the introduction of the scheme.

David Jamieson: Comprehensive figures are not available at this stage. However, we have appointed consultantsHalcrowto monitor the operation of section 74. They will be reporting to us later this summer, and copies of their report will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Train Drivers

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans the Government has to introduce a statutory limit on working hours for train drivers.

David Jamieson: From 1 August 2003, all railway workers, including train drivers, will be subject to the provisions of the European Working Time Regulations.
	In addition, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) are currently reviewing the Railway (Safety Critical Work) Regulations 1994 and considering whether the provisions relating to fatigue are adequate for all safety critical railway workers, including train drivers.

Transport 10-year Plan

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many meetings he has had with passengers' interest groups about the 10-Year Plan.

David Jamieson: My right hon. Friend has had a number of meetings with passenger interest groups over the past year, at which a range of current transport issues were discussed.

Transport, Telecommunications andEnergy Council

Jimmy Hood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the outcome was of the Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council held on 5 and 6 June 2003; what the Government's stance was on the issues discussed, including its voting record; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: The transport segment of the Transport, Energy and Telecommunications Council was held in Luxembourg on 5 and 6 June 2003. My right hon. Friend, the then Minister of State for Transport (Mr. Spellar) represented the United Kingdom.
	The Council agreed a three-part package on aviation external relations. This includes mandates for the Commission to negotiate an air service agreement with the US on behalf of the Community, and to negotiate on specific Community issues with other third countries, while allowing flexibility for member states to negotiate and implement air service agreements bilaterally. We welcome this package as a pragmatic and balanced response to the European Court of Justice rulings in the 'open skies' cases, and my right hon. Friend spoke in support of it.
	A general approach was reached on a Regulation suspending the use-it-or-lose-it rule for airport slot allocation for the summer season 2003 for application in summer 2004, because of the exceptional circumstances the Iraq conflict and SARSthat affected passenger demand.
	There were written reports to the Council on progress on two legislative proposals in aviation, the draft Regulations on insurance requirements and protection against unfair pricing practices by third countries.
	There was a debate on a draft regulation on ship and port facility security. Further work will be done in COREPER with a view to agreement at the October Council.There was consensus that work should focus on implementing the IMO regime for international traffic and the possible extension to Class A passenger ships on domestic voyages (primarily those travelling more than 20 nautical miles from the coast). We support this Regulation, which will ensure the consistent application of IMO requirements agreed last December. We expressed our concern at the automatic application to shorter domestic voyages at Council.
	Council Conclusions were agreed on improving the image of Community shipping and attracting young people to the seafaring profession. We welcome this initiative and the my right hon. Friend proposed that there should be a review of progress during the UK Presidency in 2005, following a Commission report. This was welcomed by the Commission and the Presidency.
	Written reports were submitted to the Council on designation of particularly sensitive sea areas and on the outcome of the IMO Diplomatic Conference of 12 to 16 May 2003 to adopt a Protocol to the International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage, 1992.
	Council Conclusions were agreed supporting the integration of EGNOS (project for enhancement of the GPS system in Europe) and the Galileo satellite navigation project. We are in favour of the integration of EGNOS and Galileo.
	The Commission reported on progress of the High Level Group of member states and acceding country representatives looking at future priorities for the transport Trans-European Network. The Group's report will be submitted to the Commission, which will bring forward proposals.
	Council Conclusions were agreed on the Commission's Road Safety Action Plan, entitled 'Halving the Number of Road Accident Victims in the European Union by 2010: A Shared Responsibility'. We welcomed the document and said that, where legislative measures are in prospect, they will have a much better chance of early acceptance by the Council if careful consideration of proportionality and subsidiarity issues is given beforehand. My right hon. Friend referred to the UK's good record on road safety, which showed the value of our approach. The UK was one of the member states singled out by the Commission as models for best practice in reducing road accidents.
	There was a written report on progress on the draft Directive on minimum safety requirements on tunnels in the trans-European road network. Several member states, including the UK, although supporting the general aim of improving safety, have had concerns about some of the detailed technical provisions in this Directive. The Commission recognised that further technical work needs to be done and that there is a need for flexibility in application. The Council will aim to reach agreement on the Directive later this year.
	The Commission reported on its plans for transport infrastructure charging. It plans to issue a proposal on a revised Eurovignette system for the charging of HGVs before the summer break. A number of member states called for rapid progress to be made on expected wider proposals for transport infrastructure charging. My right hon. Friend called for proposals which will support the implementation of the UK's own lorry charging scheme.
	No formal votes were taken at this Council.

DEFENCE

D-Day Anniversary

Tim Collins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on official representation of the United Kingdom at ceremonies to mark the 60th anniversary of the D-Day landings in June 2004; and what the seniority of officers attending such ceremonies will be.

Ivor Caplin: The Department is working closely with the French Comite du Debarquement, in association with the Normandy Veterans Association, to develop a full programme of commemorations in France. The programme is still in the early stages of preparation. When it has been finalised, suitable representation at senior officer level will be made available.

Energy Efficiency

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what targets his Department has for improving energy efficiency; and how he intends to achieve these targets.

Ivor Caplin: All Departments currently have an interim target of 1 per cent. pa reductions in (weather corrected) CO2 emissions from their estate, relative to the base-year 19992000. It is expected that new cross-government targets will be agreed with DEFRA by the end of the year. A Ministry of Defence strategy for delivering the targets will be published when they have been agreed.

Executive Agencies

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people work for the War Pensions Agency; how many are employed in Scotland; what the personnel costs of the agency are; and how these figures compare to 2002.

Ivor Caplin: The Veterans Agency, formerly the War Pensions Agency, currently employs 959 staff, 16 of whom work in Scotland.
	The personnel costs of the Agency for 200102 are contained in the Agency Annual Report and Accounts which is available in the House Library. The Annual Report and Accounts for 200203 is expected to be laid before Parliament before the summer recess and will contain the appropriate information.

Hotel Accommodation

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the amount spent by (a) his Department, (b) its agencies and (c) its non-departmental public bodies on hotel accommodation (i) in the UK and (ii) abroad for (A) Ministers, (B) staff and (C) others; and if he will list the average cost per hotel room, in each year since 1997.

Ivor Caplin: This information is not held centrally in the form requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, the Ministry of Defence operates a central hotel booking service and management information routinely provided by the contractor for the purposes of contract management enables a partial response to be given.
	Although bookings made through this contract represent the majority of all UK temporary overnight hotel requirements, a significant amount of overnight accommodationparticularly short notice requirements is still booked outside of the contract and no centrally held information is available. The figures shown in the table reflect military and civilian personnel regardless of their employing management group but exclude non-departmental public bodies which do not use the contract. The average cost per room per night is for bed and breakfast:
	
		
			  199798 199899 19992000 200001 200102 200203 
		
		
			 Total UK costs ( million) 14.35 20.04 22.66 25.24 25.62 32.63 
			 Average cost per room per night (BB) 43.44 54.28 59.11 61.21 63.92 65.91 
			 Total overseas costs ( million) n/a n/a n/a 3.29 3.53 4.62 
			 Average cost per room per night (BB) n/a n/a n/a 75.09 70.25 70.02 
		
	
	Note:
	Figures are shown for contract years of May to April.
	Increasing costs reflect an increase in the usage of the hotel booking contract from around 330,000 room-nights in 199798 to just over 495,000 in the last full year.
	The Government publishes an annual report of Ministerial travel overseas. The total cost of Ministerial travel provided in the annual report includes the costs of accommodation. The information sought in respect of accommodation within the UK is not held centrally. All travel is conducted in line with the requirements of the Ministerial Code.

Mr. Tony Geraghty

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with (a) Ministry of Defence Police and (b) the Director of Public Prosecutions about the publication of a report by the Police Complaints Authority concerning the arrest of Mr.Tony Geraghty, a constituent, in December 1998; and if he will make a statement.

Ivor Caplin: None. However, Defence Ministers have been briefed on the outcome of an independent investigation that the Chief Constable of Essex Police carried out, at the request of the MOD Police Committee, into complaints made by Mr. Geraghty and others, following his arrest in 1998. The Investigating Officer's report was passed to the Director of Public Prosecutions, in view of the previous involvement of the Crown Prosecution Service. Mr. Geraghty has been formally notified that his complaints have not been substantiated. Investigating Officer Reports into complaint allegations against Ministry of Defence Police officers are not published.

Pay Audits

Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made on completing a pay audit in his Department and its non-departmental public bodies to measure any disadvantage in terms of remuneration for (a) women, (b) ethnic minorities and (c) people with disabilities; and if he will publish the results of such an audit.

Ivor Caplin: The Ministry of Defence, in common with all other Government Departments, has conducted an equal pay audit following the publication of the report by the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) Equal Pay Task Force, Just Pay, in March 2001. The outcome of the audit, including an action plan, has been submitted to the Cabinet Office. Although initial audit focused on gender, the Ministry of Defence action plan includes provision for a similar audit to be carried out on ethnic minorities and people with disabilities. A copy of its action plan will be placed in the Library of the House as soon as discussions have concluded with the Cabinet Office.

Race Relations

Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made in his Department and non-departmental public bodies on implementing the requirements of the Race Relations Amendment Act 2000; and if he will publish the results of the monitoring required by the Act.

Ivor Caplin: The Ministry of Defence's Race Equality Scheme was published in May 2002 and sets out plans for complying with the general and specific duties under the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 to promote race relations in the armed forces, the MOD Police and the MOD civil service. Copies of the Scheme are available in the Library of the House. The Department is now actively engaged in implementation of the Scheme and the first progress report will be published in the autumn.

RAF Bases

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what role the Ministry of Defence Police Agency have at (a) RAF Lakenheath, (b) RAF Mildenhall, (c) RAF Fairford and (d) RAF Molesworth.

Ivor Caplin: To combat the principle risks of crime and disorder, the Ministry of Defence Police (MDP) provides a civilian policing service to RAF Lakenheath and RAF Fairford from permanent complements stationed at those locations. MDP will, where appropriate and practical, provide a policing service at RAF Mildenhall and RAF Molesworth.

RAF Bases

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many RAF apprentices are on secondment and in training at RAF Menwith Hill; what the nature of that training is; and who is funding this training.

Ivor Caplin: There are no RAF apprentices at RAF Menwith Hill.

RAF Manoeuvres

John Gummer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the fighter aircraft flying in formation in the vicinity of Sizewell nuclear power stations on 10 June were from the Royal Air Force.

Ivor Caplin: Yes.

RAF Manoeuvres

John Gummer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what notification was given to the managers of the nuclear power stations at Sizewell with regard to the Royal Air Force manoeuvres in their vicinity on 10 June.

Ivor Caplin: None. The RAF aircraft did not breach the Restricted Area around the Sizewell Nuclear Power Station.

RAF Manoeuvres

John Gummer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reason fighter jets flew over Sizewell nuclear power station on 10 June.

Ivor Caplin: The RAF aircraft which flew close to the Sizewell Nuclear Power Station on 10 June 2003 were flying in a formation holding pattern for a practice run of the Queen's Birthday Flypast. There is a Restricted Area centred on the Power Station; the RAF aircraft remained clear of this area.

War Pensioners

Jeff Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of the war pensioners, suffering from a wholly psychiatric illness, who lost incapacity benefit during the three years to 31 August 2002 appealed against the ending of their benefit; how many lost their appeal; and what the average change in net annual income was for each individual affected.

Des Browne: I have been asked to reply.
	The number of people receiving a War Pension because of a psychiatric disorder, whose claims to incapacity benefit ceased and who subsequently appealed was nil or negligible in each of the last three years.
	The available information is in the table.
	
		Incapacity benefit (IB) claims ceasing for recipients also claiming War Pension because of a psychiatric disorder, and the average amount of IB in payment at the date that the claims ceased
		
			  IB claims ceasing for recipients also claiming War Pension because of a psychiatric disorder Average amount of IB payable at the date that the claims ceased () 
		
		
			 1 September 1999 to 31 August 2000 200 63.13 
			 1 September 2000 to 31 August 2001 100 72.17 
			 1 September 2001 to 31 August 2002 100 72.63 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures are rounded to the nearest hundred.
	2. Figures are based on a very few sample cases and are therefore subject to a high degree of sampling error and should be used as a guide to the current situation only.
	3. Figures exclude IB claims ceasing due to award of Retirement Pension.
	Source:
	Merges of 5 per cent. samples of the Incapacity Benefit and War Pensions computer systems.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Asbestos

Vincent Cable: To ask the Solicitor-General what actions her Department and its Agency are taking to comply with the requirements of the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002; whether she has made an estimate of the cost of compliance; and if she will make a statement.

Harriet Harman: The Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers is fully aware of its obligations under the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations and believes it is fully compliant, having commissioned survey reports and held asbestos registers since at least 1994, the last such survey report and register being dated 27 September 2002. This identified only minimal presence of asbestos, requiring no immediate action other than a recommendation that the risk be managed by periodic inspection to detect any change in condition. LSLO has a management regime in place for this.
	Crown Prosecution Service
	The Crown Prosecution Service will be reviewing and updating the asbestos information currently held for the Crown Prosecution Service Estate. The review will include planned assessments for all Crown Prosecution Service sites (111 sites). Where the Crown Prosecution Service is not the major occupier, the Crown Prosecution Service will remind the main occupier of their responsibilities to ensure compliance with Regulation 4 of the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002. An estimated cost of compliance is being produced. Serious Fraud Office A survey undertaken by managing agents confirmed there is no asbestos within the Serious Fraud Office's premises.
	There is no further action for the Serious Fraud Office to take in respect of the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002.
	HM Crown Prosecution Service Directorate
	As a result of the Asbestos (Amendment) Act 1998, a survey of 2628 Old Queen Street, the London office of HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate, was undertaken. The building was found to be clear of asbestos.
	The Control of Asbestos at Work Regulation 2002 is due for implementation by May 2004. HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate, in conjunction with its landlords, will be conducting another survey of its London Office in order to show its commitment to the new Regulation.
	Treasury Solicitor's Department The Treasury Solicitor's Department commissioned a revised and updated asbestos survey and register for its premises in Queen Anne's Chambers in September 2002 (last previous update 1998) in the light of the impending new Regulations at a cost of 3,664.25 It is not envisaged that any further costs will be incurred specifically to achieve compliance as we have been following good practice guidelines for many years.

Departmental Catering Services

John Bercow: To ask the Solicitor General what the cost was of (a) the in-house canteen and (b) other catering services provided by the Attorney General in 2002.

Harriet Harman: A holding reply was given on 25 March 2003.
	Of the Departments for which the Attorney General holds ministerial responsibility, only the Crown Prosecution Service has an in-house canteen which is at their headquarters in London. The service is contracted out to a commercial firm and the cost of this facility in the Financial Year 200102 was 84,417.
	No other catering services are provided by any of the Departments for which the Attorney General is responsible.
	Some refreshments are provided for meetings and training events etc. on an ad hoc basis.
	The available figures for money spent on catering services for hospitality, training, meeting refreshments etc. for the financial year 200203 to date is as follows:
	
		
			   
		
		
			 Treasury Solicitor's Department 6,307.93 
			 Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers 6,835.31 
			 Her Majesty's Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate 6,335.00

Departmental Website

Vincent Cable: To ask the Solicitor General if she will list the actions the Department (a) has taken and (b) is taking to ensure that the websites of the Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies are accessible to partially sighted and blind people; and if she will make a statement.

Harriet Harman: The Crown Prosecution Service is working towards improvements to its website to provide accessibility to individuals with visual impairment.
	This involves implementing the Office of the E-envoy's guidelines for UK Government websites that cover a range of accessibility issues.
	The guidelines include following the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) recommendations and achieving 'Bobby' approved certification.
	In addition, the Crown Prosecution Service will be seeking to achieve the Royal National Institute of the Blind's (RNIB) 'See it Right' accessible website logo for the RNIB scheme that promotes website accessibility for people with visual impairment.
	Serious Fraud Office The Serious Fraud Office has followed checkpoints from priorities one and two of the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (recommendations) when the site was built.
	The Serious Fraud Office is committed to help partially sighted and blind people, and will consider what further work needs to be carried out on it site in order to help them gain access to its information.
	HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate and Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate has recently undertaken a review of the content of its departmental website. The Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers is currently undertaking such a review. As recommended by the Royal National Institute for the Blind, neither site uses Macromedia Flash or Shockwave software, animated Gifs, frames or pop-up windows. Font sizes within the site's text are scalable and their colour settings are adjusted by site users. Site links, however, have not been coded for recognition by speech software. This and the provision of reports as text files in addition to their current Portable Document Format (PDF) are being considered.
	Treasury Solicitor's Department We have three websites, each of which aims to be accessible to visually impaired people.
	The Treasury Solicitor's Department has been designed to be accessible to individuals with visual impairment, using current best practice. The site is currently undergoing adjustments to achieve full compliance with the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0, issued by the Office of the E-envoy.
	The Government Legal Services website has been designed in accordance with Cabinet Office guidelines for websites and general good practice. The site has achieved compliance for accessibility for the visually impaired as required by the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0.
	The Bona Vacantia (BV) Division websites were developed late in 2001 and meet the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0. There are minor areas where further action is required to improve accessibility and the BV website developer has been asked to look at this.

European Working Groups

John Bercow: To ask the Solicitor-General if she will make a statement on progress with achieving transparency in respect of the European working groups for which the Department is responsible.

Harriet Harman: holding answer 2 April 2003
	None of the Departments for which the Attorney-General holds ministerial responsibility are responsible for any European working groups.

Parental Leave Directive

John Bercow: To ask the Solicitor General how many staff in the Law Officers' Departments have used their leave entitlement under the Parental Leave Directive.

Harriet Harman: holding answer 14 April 2003
	Crown Prosecution Service
	During the period 1 April 2002 to 31 March 2003, a total of 20 staff within the Crown Prosecution Service applied for, and were granted, parental leave.
	Serious Fraud Office
	No employees of the Serious Fraud Office have used their leave entitlement under the Parental Leave Directive.
	HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate
	No staff have had leave entitlement under the Parental Leave Directive.
	Treasury Solicitor's Department
	Three members of Treasury Solicitor's staff, which for these purposes includes staff at the Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers, have used their entitlement under the Parental Leave Directive.

PFI Schemes

John Bercow: To ask the Solicitor General if she will make a statement on the expected saving to future funds from the private finance initiative schemes due to become operational in 2003.

Harriet Harman: holding answer 2 April 2003
	None of the Departments for which the Attorney General holds ministerial responsibility have any private finance initiative schemes due to become operational in 2003.

Staff Turnover

John Bercow: To ask the Solicitor-General what assessment she has made of regional variations in staff turnover in her Department.

Harriet Harman: holding answer 14 May 2003
	The Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers
	The Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers is based in London and has no regional staff.
	Crown Prosecution Service
	The Crown Prosecution Service does not consider the staff turnover in the majority of its regional areas to be sufficiently significant to justify detailed analysis. Consequently, the Crown Prosecution Service has not carried out a regional assessment of turnover. However, plans are being made to examine more closely the effect of staff turnover in particular areas in conjunction with the Government's request to look at the need for differentiated pay according to geographic location.
	Serious Fraud Office
	None. All Serious Fraud Office staff are based in Central London.
	HM Crown Prosecution Service Directorate
	HM Crown Prosecution Service Directorate has not carried out any precise assessments relating to staff turnover regionally. The Inspectorate currently employs 44 members of staff based in London and York.
	Staffing strategy means that many posts are filled by individuals on loan from other Government Departments. A significant proportion of 'turnover', therefore, relates to individuals returning to their Departments after their loan period has expired, and so any assessment of regional variations is unlikely to be of any benefit.
	Treasury Solicitor's Department
	None, as only 12 of the Agency's staff are based outside London.

CABINET OFFICE

Duchy of Lancaster (Magistracy)

Graham Brady: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will make a statement on appointments to the magistracy in the Duchy of Lancaster.

Douglas Alexander: When considering magisterial appointments in Lancashire I am advised by the 17 Advisory Committees within the county. The procedures on magisterial appointments used by the Duchy Office are the same as those used for the remainder of the country.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Afghanistan

Bob Spink: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what recent assessment he has made of the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: The humanitarian situation in Afghanistan has improved compared to the situation last year, and is no longer an emergency. This is due both to an increased crop yield (up 80 per cent. on the previous year) and to much better snow and rainfall over the winter in both the north and south of the country, which has eased the effects of the persistent drought. Refugees are continuing to return to the country, aided by UNHCR and the Ministry for Refugees and Repatriation, although at a slower rate than last year. Vulnerable households, such as women-headed households, internally displaced persons (IDPs) and disabled people continue to require assistance.
	Insecurity in the provinces outside Kabul continues to be a concern, and is hampering the operations of NGOs and UN agencies in the southern and eastern provinces. As part of a coordinated response with the Afghan Transitional Administration and other international partners, the UK Government is considering the deployment of a Provincial Reconstruction Team to one of the provinces outside Kabul. The Ministry of Defence will make a parliamentary statement on any deployment in due course.

CDC Capital Partners

Gregory Barker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development if he will list (a) the countries in which CDC Capital Partners has closed offices since July 2002, (b) the location of those offices and (c) the status of the staff assigned to each office.

Hilary Benn: CDC has closed three offices since July 2002, as follows:
	Mexico City, Mexico: two employees have been redeployed to other CDC offices.
	Miami, USA: two employees have been redeployed to other CDC offices and four employees have been made redundant.
	Virginia, USA: one employee has been redeployed to another CDC office one has been made redundant.

Gun Trade

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what assessment his Department has made of (a) the impact of the trade in small guns in developing countries and (b) the recommendations of the OSCE conference in Prague on 20 to 23 May 2003.

Hilary Benn: The impact of the trade in small arms on development is of great concern both to the UK Government and other international bodies who are trying to combat the effects of this trade. The UK Government recently sponsored a 3-day workshop on integrating small arms controls into development assistance. A key finding was the need for further research and analysis of the development implications of small arms proliferation, including the impact of the trade in small guns. DFID will commission this research shortly, and aims to disseminate results by the end of 2003. The UK Government will also be playing a leading role in discussions on the links between small arms proliferation and development at the UN Biennial Meeting of States in July to review progress on implementation of the UN Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms.
	DFID did not attend the OSCE Economic Forum on Trafficking in Human Beings, Drugs, Small Arms and Light Weapons: National and International Economic Impact, held in Prague on 20 to 23 May 2003. DFID has however noted the recommendations of the forum with interest, and supports the OSCE's further efforts to address these issues. Many of these recommendations concur with our own assessments of the action needed to be taken to combat such trafficking.

Indonesia

Joan Walley: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development if he will make a statement on the recent meeting with the Indonesian Trade Minister; and if he will make a statement in respect of action to implement a memorandum of understanding with Indonesia on illegal logging.

Hilary Benn: I met with the Indonesia Minister of Forestry, Dr. Prakosa just over a year ago on 18 April 2002 when the bilateral Memorandum of Understanding to Combat Illegal Logging and the Associated Trade in Illegal Timber and Wood Products was signed between Indonesia and UK. Since then we have done a number of things.
	First of all we are supporting a process to develop a working definition of legality in Indonesia. This is fundamental and it may sound straightforward. However, in Indonesia many laws govern different aspects of forests and forest industry and reaching agreement on an enforceable definition of legality is difficult. We are helping to bring a range of stakeholders together and broker an agreement that will allow us to move forward. We have started the process of piloting verification schemes that will be needed to confirm compliance with legal requirements. Allied to this we are supporting efforts to restructure forest industry and close down mills that rely on illegally sourced timber.
	The UK timber trade is taking this seriously too. Just last week, on the day the Greenpeace report Partners in Crime: a Greenpeace investigation of the links between the UK and Indonesia's timber barons was published, UK timber traders met with Indonesian suppliers in London to discuss common supplier assessments and third party auditing.
	Other countries are also beginning to play their part. China and Norway have signed MoUs with Indonesia that draw on that signed by Indonesia and UK last year. Japan and the EU are currently discussing agreements with Indonesia. Malaysia has taken action to stop the illegal import of logs and cants (roughly squared logs) from Indonesia.
	However, under EU law, a ban on illegally logged timber, can only be imposed at EU level, not at UK level. We are therefore working actively within the EU. The European Commission published a Communication containing a proposed forest law enforcement, governance and trade (FLEGT) action plan on 21 May 2003. The plan includes a proposal for new EU import regulations to address imports of illegally logged timber in a way that is consistent with our obligations under the World Trade Organisation.
	The Communication requests endorsement from Council and the European Parliament to:
	enter into negotiations for FLEGT Partnership Agreements with wood producing countries;
	present a Regulation setting up the voluntary licensing scheme, in conjunction with wide stakeholder consultation; and
	review options for, and consider the impact of, further measures to support the Action Plan, including, in the absence of multilateral progress, the feasibility of legislation to control imports of illegally harvested timber, and report back to the Council on this work during 2004.
	Member states are also asked to identify relevant national legislation that could be applied to address the illegal logging issue, and to inform the Commission of their findings.
	The purpose of the Voluntary Partnership Agreements and associated Regulation would be to prevent timber without a valid licence (indicating legal harvesting) from participating countries entering the EU.

Iraq

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development if the Department will ensure that plans for the distribution of food after the end of the oil for food programme in Iraq will give particular attention to the need to create an independent food distribution network free from political interference.

Hilary Benn: The Government recognise the importance of establishing a food distribution system which addresses the needs of all those Iraqis who are dependent on food aid. DFID's long-term aim is to create an environment which will allow these Iraqis to become self-sufficient, rather than reliant on food handouts.

Iraq

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what estimate has been made of the number of civil servants in Iraq who have not returned to work.

Hilary Benn: DFID is not aware of any overall assessment of the number of civil servants in Iraq who have not returned to work since the start of the conflict. In a number of cases civil servants have been unable to return to work because of damage done to government buildings, predominately by looting. The Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) is providing finance for rehabilitating government buildings.
	The CPA is now paying salaries and pensions for 1.35 million Iraqi civil servants throughout the country, including teachers, medical staff and police officers.

Iraq

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development whether the Coalition Provisional Authority has made an assessment of (a) the capacity of civil servants in Iraq to re-establish a working civil service and (b) the unmet needs of the Iraqi civil service.

Hilary Benn: The Coalition Provisional Authority is considering how best to re-establish an effective civil service.
	The Coalition Provisional Authority is now paying salaries and pensions to 1.35 million Iraqi civil servants throughout the country, including teachers, medical staff and police officers. Funds are also being allocated to the rehabilitation of government buildings.

Sub-Saharan Africa

Gregory Barker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what the value is of new investments made in sub-Saharan Africa by CDC Capital Partners by (a) country and (b) sector in the last 12 months; and what the projected value is of new investments in the area by (i) country and (ii) sector in the next 12 months.

Hilary Benn: Since July 2002, approximately 133 million has been invested in sub-Saharan Africa.
	
		
			 Countries 000 
		
		
			 Pan Africa 17 
			 Cote D'Ivoire 53 
			 Kenya 14,000 
			 Mauritius 470 
			 Mozambique 609 
			 Nigeria 228 
			 South Africa 20,750 
			 Swaziland 358 
			 Tanzania 96,622 
		
	
	
		
			  000 
		
		
			 Sectors  
			 Power 113,017 
			 Agribusiness 15,300 
			 Minerals/oil/gas 3,000 
			   
			 Funds 1,300 
			 TMT 281 
			 Financial Services 34 
			 Infrastructure 75 
		
	
	It is not possible to comment on projected values over the next 12 months. It will depend on a variety of factors.

Tax Relief (Drugs)

Martin Caton: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what assessment the Department has made of the impact on African nations of giving tax relief for research on the development of beneficial drugs.

Hilary Benn: The UK Government is committed to significantly improving access to medicines in developing countries. We need to tackle all the factors affecting access if we are to make lasting improvements.
	Those factors recognised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) that can improve poor people's access to medicines are: affordable pricing, sustainable financing, reliable health and supply systems, and the rational selection and use of existing drugs.
	Clare Short chaired a High Level Working Group on Increasing Access to Essential Medicines in the Developing World, which examined these issues in detail and made a series of recommendations for action in its report of November 2002. Officials across Whitehall are taking forward these recommendations with key stakeholders.
	One recommendation was to encourage companies to increase research and development into medicines and vaccines for diseases prevalent in developing countries, namely TB, malaria and relevant strains of HIV/AIDS, taking forward implementation of the RD tax credits announced in the Budget. The special tax relief for companies developing drugs and vaccines for TB, malaria and HIV/AIDS applies to expenditure incurred on or after 22 April 2003. As it is claimed by companies when they complete their tax returns, which they can submit up to 12 months after the end of the accounting period in question, the Inland Revenue do not yet have any information on claims.

TREASURY

Government Contracts

Margaret Moran: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of Government contracts have been awarded to social enterprises since 1997; and if he will list these.

Paul Boateng: This information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Energy Efficiency

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the use of financial incentives to encourage the use of domestic energy efficient products.

John Healey: The Government have already introduced a range of measures to promote energy efficiency in the home. The Government have reduced the rate of VAT to 5 per cent. on the grant-funded installation of new central heating systems and heating appliances, factory-insulated hot water tanks, micro combined heat and power systems, and renewable energy heating systems in the homes of the less well-off. The Government have also reduced VAT to 5 per cent. on the installation of specific energy-saving materials.
	The Government consulted on economic instruments to improve household energy efficiency during 2002 and a summary of responses has been published on the HMT website. Budget 2003 announced that, in the light of this initial consultation, the Government will shortly undertake further detailed consultation on specific measures to encourage household energy efficiency.
	The Government have also introduced other measures to improve the energy efficiency and tackle fuel poverty in the domestic sector, including the Energy Efficiency Commitment (EEC) and Warm Front.
	The EEC requires gas and electricity suppliers to encourage and assist their domestic customers to reduce energy consumption and to meet targets for quantified energy savings. Households on income and disability related benefits are currently provided with at least 50 per cent. of the benefits from the EEC.
	Since its launch in June 2000, the Warm Front Scheme, which provides packages of insulation and heating measures worth up to 2,500 to private sector households in receipt of certain benefits, has assisted over 500,000 households, helping improve the comfort levels and living conditions of some of the most vulnerable members of society.

Euro

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the capacity of the Bank of England to act as lender of last resort in the event of UK entry to the eurozone.

Paul Boateng: As stated in the EMU study Policy frameworks in the UK and EMU, published on 9 June alongside the assessment of the five economic tests,
	The UK Government, in line with others, believes that lender of last resort operations remain a national responsibility for euro area members.

Export Control Act

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether HM Customs and Excise have contributed to the review of the secondary legislation made under the Export Control Act 2002.

John Healey: HM Customs and Excise were consulted throughout the drafting stage of the secondary orders for the Export Control Act 2002.

Iraq

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 7 May 2003, Official Report, column 687W, whether Iraqi imports will now be eligible for the reduced rate of customs duty under the Generalised System of Preferences.

John Healey: Eligibility under the Generalised System of Preferences is strictly a matter for the European Commission.
	Iraqi exporters cannot start to use GSP until administrative arrangements between the European Commission and the appropriate Iraqi authority are in place.

Iraq

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether HM Customs and Excise have changed the treatment of Iraqi goods coming into the UK since the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1483.

John Healey: As set out by the Department of Trade and Industry in a Notice to Importers, Import restrictions on goods from Iraq coming into the UK have been lifted in accordance with UN Resolution 1483, with the exception of cultural objects. All other imports from Iraq will be treated in the same way as all third country imports.

Productivity (Planning Regulations)

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will commission an update to the 1998 report Driving Productivity and Growth in the UK Economy by the McKinsey Global Institute, with particular reference to the impact of planning regulations on UK productivity.

Keith Hill: I have been asked to reply.
	Commissioning research on the impact of the planning system is primarily a matter for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
	The 1998 McKinsey study was not commissioned by the Government. Planning was only a small aspect of the study. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has no proposal to commission further research to explore this issue.

Productivity (Planning Regulations)

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps the Treasury has taken with regard to productivity issues relating to planning guidelines, in response to the conclusions of the 1998 McKinsey Global Institute study of UK productivity.

John Healey: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has responsibility for planning guidelines and, with the rest of the Government, has taken steps to develop proposals for reform of the planning system. The Deputy Prime Minister set out these proposals in Sustainable Communities: Delivering through Planning, published in July 2002, provided further details in Sustainable Communities: Building for the Future, in February 2003 and most recently updated the House on progress in Sustainable Communities: Delivery through Planning on 5 June 2003.
	Budget 2003 also set out specific steps on retail planning and development:
	Productivity in the UK retail sector lags that in competitor economies. The planning system may be one of the factors affecting productivity if it restricts competition, innovation and choice. The Government is committed to ensuring the viability and vitality of town centres, and will review its guidance on planning for retail development to ensure that this is achieved alongside improvements in productivity. Revised guidance will encourage proactive planning for town centres and multi-level retail development to reduce land take. The Government will also ask Regional Planning Bodies to consider the need for, and broad location of, major new retail and distribution facilities in Regional Spatial Strategies.

Scottish Parliament Building

Pete Wishart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how much money central Government originally allocated for the planning, construction and equipping of a new Scottish Parliament building; and whether these funds were allocated via the block grant;
	(2)  how much money central Government has provided in total for the planning, construction and equipping of a new Scottish Parliament building; and whether these funds were sent via the block grant.

Paul Boateng: The costs of the Scottish Parliament are a devolved matter and are met from the overall Scottish block budget. No additional sums have been allocated by the Government.

Winter Fuel Payments

Sue Doughty: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the estimated costs are for winter fuel payments during 2002; what he expects the additional cost of paying a further 100 to those over 80 will be; what the annual expenditure allocated to the Warm Front scheme is for 200304; and what the annual expenditure is on the Social Priority Group as designated within the Energy Efficiency Commitment.

John Healey: The estimated cost of providing winter fuel payments in Great Britain in 200203 is detailed in Table 2 of the Benefit Expenditure Tables 2003, which are available on the statistics pages of the Department for Work and Pensions website.
	The cost of providing an extra 100 to households with someone aged 80 and over is detailed in Table A.1 of this year's Financial Statement and Budget Report (HC 500).
	The funding allocated to the Warm Front scheme for 200304 is 152 million, from a total fuel poverty budget of 156 million. This year's level of funding will enable continued delivery of energy efficiency measures to some of the most vulnerable members of society.
	Under the Energy Efficiency Commitment 200205, energy suppliers must direct at least 50 per cent. of energy savings to a priority group of low-income consumers over the three-year programme. The annual expenditure will depend on the energy efficiency measures used to generate those savings.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Disabled Students

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what action he has taken to support the provision of university courses for disabled students.

Alan Johnson: The Government are committed to the principle that all those who can benefit from higher education should have the opportunity to do so. We amended the Disability Discrimination Act in 2001 to make it unlawful for higher education institutions to treat disabled applicants less favourably than others and to require them to make reasonable adjustments so that disabled students are not placed at a substantial disadvantage. It is, however, for the institutions themselves to determine which courses they will provide. Through the Higher Education Funding Council for England, we have funded the National Disability Team to promote good practice in learning and teaching across the sector.

Education Funding

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to simplify the funding mechanism for post-16 non 'A' Level students at (a) full and (b) part-time levels.

Alan Johnson: The funding arrangements for post-16 learning are the operational responsibility of the Learning and Skills Council (LSC). I have asked John Harwood, the Council's Chief Executive, to reply to the hon. Member, providing the specific information requested, and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Library.
	The LSC is committed to: simplifying further education funding; reducing the bureaucratic burden; and ending the uncertainty of the current system. The LSC has recently consulted on this and the approach to funding adult learning. Our Skills Strategy to be published shortly will set out the way forward on funding adult learning.

Education Initiatives

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make an assessment of whether the learning strategies recommended in the Assessment for Learning programme are compatible with mixed ability teaching.

David Miliband: Successful use of assessment for learning is not dependent on a particular form of pupil grouping. The focus is on the individual pupil and the learning needs identified by good quality assessment of their work. The strategies involvedsharing objectives; analysis of performance; feedback, which identifies next steps; peer and self assessment and questioning, which uncovers misconceptions and encourages pupils to explain their thinkingcan be employed in a variety of grouping arrangements.

Educational Support Organisations

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether an educational support organisation, which is receiving national funding from the Learning and Skills Council, may also receive the funding required to establish basic skills under a national programme.

Alan Johnson: I understand that this concerns the access of a certain national learning provider to a national contract for funding. The Learning and Skills Council are driving down bureaucracy by introducing single contracts with providers who operate in more than one local area, and I have asked the LSC to talk to this particular provider about how best to move to a more simplified contractual arrangement.

Further Education

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what growth in student numbers further education is expected to assimilate in order to meet the requirements in Success for All.

Alan Johnson: Success for All is a programme of reforms, which will raise standards across all post-16 further education and training providers, and will contribute to increases in both participation and achievement. We expect growth in participation in further education to play a major part in delivering our target that by 2010, 90 per cent. of young people by age 22 will have participated in a full-time programme fitting them for entry into higher education or skilled employment.

Further Education

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proposals he has to reduce the administration in relation to FE.

Alan Johnson: The DfES and the LSC are determined to cut the burden of administration across the whole of the learning and skills sector. We will shortly announce the composition of an independent gatekeeper group to reduce bureaucracy. This group will vigorously challenge the Department and the LSC to justify new and existing administrative practices. It was one of the main recommendations of the Task Force chaired by Sir George Sweeney which reported in November 2002. We fully accept the Task Force's recommendations on cutting bureaucracy and want to see them implemented quickly.

Further Education

Andy Burnham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of 16-year-olds remained in full-time education after finishing secondary school in each of the last three years in each local education authority in England.

Ivan Lewis: Participation rates by LEA for 16 and 17-year-olds are published in an annual National Statistics Bulletin, Participation in Education and Training by 16 and 17 Year Olds in Each Local Area in England. This latest bulletin is published solely on the DfES website: http://www.dfes.gov.uk/statistics/DB/SBU/b0369
	Table 3 gives participation rates for 16-year-olds in full-time education by local education authority, 1998 to 2000, the latest year for which figures are available.
	Copies of the Bulletin have been placed in the Libraries.

Official Spelling

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will take steps to ensure that computers and other electronic equipment in schools use spell checks with the recognised English spelling of words and not the US spelling.

Charles Clarke: This is generally a software issue. Some software applications do not use a UK English spell checker as the default, and it may be necessary to change an option within any particular application so that it does, before deploying and using the software. This default can also be changed after the software has already been installed.
	I have asked our agency, the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (Becta), to provide advice to schools via their ICT Advice website, on how to set generic software to English language setting and also to provide advice to schools on being aware of this issue when purchasing software.

Race Relations

Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what progress has been made in his Department and non-departmental public bodies on implementing the requirements of the Race Relations Amendment Act 2000; and if he will publish the results of the monitoring required by the Act.

Charles Clarke: My Department and our non-departmental public bodies are fully committed to equality and diversity and to meeting our obligations under the amended Race Relations Act. The Department published its Race Equality Scheme in May 2002 in accordance with the statutory requirements.
	The Department's Race Equality Scheme identifies those areas of policy development and internal employment practice most likely to impact on reducing inequalities. All of our functions and policies are assessed for their relevance to race equality, and action plans developed for those assessed as having a high relevance. Implementation of these action plans will be monitored through the annual business planning process. Assessments will continue to be made once every three years. We will publish annually the results of our monitoring.

Student Finance

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to his written ministerial statement of 15 May 2003, Official Report, column 13WS, on bankruptcy and student loans, how many and what amount of student loans have so far been written off on account of bankruptcy; and if he will make a statement on action being taken to frustrate write-offs in advance of correcting legislation.

Alan Johnson: No loans have been written off since the statement to Parliament on bankruptcy and student loans, made on 15 May 2003. The Student Loans Company (SLC) will now take this forward.
	The SLC have identified 633 bankrupt borrowers, with a total of 2.4 million in outstanding loan balances to be written off. Against a customer base of 2.4 million and a total loan book of 10 billion, the proportion of affected borrowers is very small.
	It is not possible for us to prevent write-off of student loans on bankruptcy before the changes in primary legislation, which we have announced in the Higher Education White Paper.

Training

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what level of training was undertaken by each social class grouping in Gloucestershire for each of the last two years for which records are available.

Alan Johnson: Figures from the Labour Force Surveys for spring 2001 and 2002 are given in the following table. The figures show the highest qualification level for which people of working age in Gloucestershire were studying. It is not possible to give a breakdown by social class for Gloucestershire because of sample size limitations and confidentiality constraints.
	
		
			2001   2002 
			 Qualification level Number Percentage Number Percentage 
		
		
			 Degrees and above and higher education below degree level 19,000 29 25,000 38 
			 A level + GCSE and equivalents 28,000 43 23,000 34 
			 Other qualifications 18,000 27 18,000 28 
			 Total 65,000 100 67,000 100

University Students

Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will commission a study of the conversion rate for applications against offers for university places for students from lower income groups, broken down by (a) gender, (b) subject and (c) university.

Alan Johnson: The Government have no plans to commission a study of this nature. They will, however, continue to support through their Aimhigher Programme improvement in the attainment, aspirations and applications of a wider range of young people who hitherto may have failed to participate in Higher Education (HE). Continuing evaluation of the Aimhigher Programme will help determine the effectiveness of our policies on widening participation in HE. We will also support the identification, development and dissemination of good practice in admissions policies and practises across HE.

University Students

Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps he will take to encourage women and girls from lower family income groups to apply for subjects and universities where they are underrepresented.

Alan Johnson: We are working closely with the Department of Trade and Industry to take forward recommendations made in the Baroness Greenfield's report SET Fair. The Government's response, A Strategy for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology, was published in April 2003. It outlined a coherent strategy to tackle under-representation of women in science, engineering and technology at all levels. Both these documents are available on the website of the Promoting SET for Women Unit of the DTI (www.set4women.gov.uk).
	The Government are also working in partnership with the Welcome Trust to create a national network of science learning centres. These will provide innovative training for science teachers and technicians, aiming to bring the excitement of science into the classroom, including encouraging more young women to continue studying science post 16.
	More generally, we have in place a range of initiatives to encourage greater progression to higher education by those young people who do not traditionally access higher education in large numbers. The Aimhigher programme in particular helps to raise the aspirations of young people. We also provide a range of financial support for students from low income families. For example, we pay the first 1,100 of tuition fees, depending on the income of the student's family. And, in October 2004, we are introducing a new higher education grant of up to 1,000 for those from low income families.

University Students

Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of careers guidance at each of the universities in assisting students to maximise employment opportunities; and what assessment he has made of equity of outcome in this respect for students from lower family income groups at each of the universities.

Alan Johnson: Following concerns that students in higher education may not be getting the careers advice and guidance they needed, and that quality of provision was variable, we asked Sir Martin Harris, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Manchester to carry out a review. Sir Martin's report was published in January 2001. He found that while there was much good practice, standards generally needed to be brought up to the level of the best. Sir Martin made a number of recommendations to institutions to help them develop their careers services and to make clear to students and employers what they would provide. Since then, Universities UK and the Standing Conference of Principals have published additional guidance, based on Sir Martin's recommendations, that institutions can use in modernising and providing careers services that are increasingly effective.
	The Department does not assess higher education careers services for any specific outcome. The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) publishes annually a set of performance indicators for higher education. For the last two years it has published data on employment outcomes from each institution, with benchmarks that include social class as a factor. The data are on HEFCE's website at: www.hefce.ac.uk/Learning/perfind/2002/ and show that, nationally for 2000/01, 93 per cent. of full-time first degree students were employed or going on to further study six months after graduation, although those from lower social classes had a slightly lower employment rate than those from affluent classes.

University Tuition Fees

Eric Martlew: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the cost would be of abolishing university tuition fees in 200304.

Alan Johnson: For 200304, the standard tuition fee contribution for full-time home and EU students of 1,125 is estimated to raise around 887 million for English institutions and around 60 million for Welsh institutions. The public and private fee elements for these figures can be broken down into:
	
		 million
		
			 200304 estimate England Wales 
		
		
			 Public contributions to fees 456 31 
			 Private contributions towards the cost of tuition 431 29 
			 Total 887 60 
		
	
	Should private contributions to the cost of tuition be abolished, the additional cost to the Government of reimbursing higher education institutions in England and Wales for this loss of income is the private contribution set out in the table. If private contributions were abolished and no additional public funding was found, about 90,000 student places would be lost, a figure confirmed by the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Arla/National Express Merger

David Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations her Department has made to support the planned merger of Arla with National Express; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: I have been asked to reply.
	I assume the hon. Member is referring to the planned merger of Arla with Express Dairies.
	It is normal practice for the Competition Authorities to ask Government departments to comment on merger proposals.
	The Department has written to the Competition Authorities with its views on this merger. However, the nature of that correspondence is commercial and market sensitive and it is therefore not appropriate for me to disclose its content.

Broadband

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on progress in the implementation of broadband in (a) Mid Sussex and (b) West Sussex.

Stephen Timms: holding answer 16 June 2003
	South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) is committed to supporting pilot projects looking at broadband coverage across Sussex and delivers a county-wide integrated strategy. Significant activities include:
	a grant to West Sussex county council to identify and support a number of Wireless Broadband Community Projectsconsortia of local businesses being formed to share the costs of a wireless broadband service in areas where ADSL broadband is not available; and
	113 grants across Sussex under the Remote Area Broadband Inclusion Trial (RABBIT) to pilot the use of satellite and wireless broadband solutions as an alternative to ADSL broadband.

Business Link Operators

Brian Cotter: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which Business Link operators have a specialist tourism adviser; and if she will make a statement.

Nigel Griffiths: This Government recognise the importance of the tourism sector and the need to ensure that anyone seeking advice is given the highest quality service. That is why we require Business Link Operators to meet the needs of their local area and make use of the wide range of specialist services from the private sector and the expertise of local providers. Such records are not kept centrally.

Electricity Trading andTransmission Arrangements

Tom Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when legislation will be introduced to enable the introduction of the British Electricity Trading and Transmission Arrangements; and if she will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: The Government remain committed to bringing forward legislation on the British Electricity Trading and Transmission Arrangements (BETTA) as soon as parliamentary time allows, and to the implementation of BETTA by April 2005 at the latest.

Intracompany Transfers

Matthew Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many foreign nationals have entered Britain through intracompany transfers in each of the last five years; and how many of these were employed in the IT sector.

Beverley Hughes: I have been asked to reply.
	The numbers of people who have been issued with work permits under the arrangements for intracompany transfer, and the number of those work permit approvals that relate to the IT sector are as follows:
	
		
			  Number of intracompany transferees Number of intracompany transferees in IT sector 
		
		
			 2000 26,155 8,895 
			 2001 27,438 10,608 
			 2002 26,100 11,006 
		
	
	Figures are available from 2000 onward only and comprise in and out of country approvals.

Nuclear Industry

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the environmental impacts of (a) storage of all AGR nuclear fuel and (b) continuation with current reprocessing contracts with BNFL for each of British Energy's advanced gas-cooled reactors.

Elliot Morley: I have been asked to reply.
	No separate assessment has been made of environmental impacts from the storage or reprocessing of spent AGR fuel. AGR fuel is reprocessed at the Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant (THORP) at Sellafield. The Environment Agency, on the basis of the National Radiological Protection Board model, estimates that the operation of THORP, when dealing with any type of spent fuel, contributes a maximum of 11 microsieverts a year to the radiation dose received by the Sellafield critical group (those people potentially most exposed to discharges from Sellafield).
	This may be compared to the annual UK dose limit for man-made radioactivity of 1000 microsieverts. The estimated critical group doses for Sellafield as a whole at the Agency's proposed new discharge limits, including THORP, are 92 microsieverts for aerial discharges and 190 microsieverts for liquid discharges. Thus, for Sellafield as a whole, the maximum dose to a member of a critical group would be less than 20 per cent. of what would be acceptable under European limits. The THORP contribution is just over 1 per cent. of that limit.
	The models used in calculating radiation doses are kept under continuous review, and those to do with inhaled and ingested radiation are currently being considered by the Committee Examining Radiation Risk of Internal Emitters (CERRIE). CERRIE is expected to report by the end of the year.

Post Offices

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many post office branches have closed permanently in Northern Ireland in each year since 1997.

Stephen Timms: I understand from Post Office Ltd. that details of the number of net post office closures in Northern Ireland, separate from those for the United Kingdom as a whole, are only available from end March 1998 and are as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 199899 10 
			 19992000 8 
			 200001 21 
			 200102 6 
			 200203 12

Post Offices

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many post offices have closed in the last 12 months.

Stephen Timms: Post office closures are an operational matter for Post Office Ltd. All closure proposals are subject to public consultation under the code of practice agreed between Post Office Ltd. and Postwatch. I understand from Post Office Ltd. that in the 12 months to end March 2003, net closures totalled 345 including 102 closures under the urban reinvention programme.

Telecommunications

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether her Department is sponsoring future research into telecommunications and health following the Stewart Report.

Stephen Timms: The Department is one of the co-funders of the LINK Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research (MTHR) Programme along with other Government Departments, agencies and industry. The first projects to be funded under the Programme were announced in January 2002. The Department has also directly funded a small number of projects, primarily concerned with measurement issues, which fell outside the scope of the programme, but are managed and monitored according to the same principles as the MTHR work. Further information is available on the programme website: www.mthr.org.uk

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Afghanistan

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made of the size of the opium harvest in Afghanistan in each of the last five years.

Mike O'Brien: The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reported that the level of cultivation of opium poppy in Afghanistan was 64,000 hectares in 1998, 91,000 hectares in 1999, 82,000 hectares in 2000, 8,000 hectares in 2001 and 74,000 hectares in 2002.

Afghanistan

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the security situation in Afghanistan.

Mike O'Brien: Security in Afghanistan remains a serious concern. We deplore the attack on the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) on 7 June that resulted in the deaths of four German soldiers. This follows other sporadic attacks against ISAF, Coalition and Transitional Administration targets, as well as UN demining teams and NGOs. The UK continues to contribute to ISAF and, as announced by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence on 8 May, the UK will be leading a Provincial Reconstruction Team in Mazar-e-Sharif from early July. In addition the UK has contributed more than 13 million for Afghan Security Sector reform in the past twelve months.

Afghanistan

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the threat from (a) al-Qaeda and (b) the Taliban in Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: Although the Taliban and al-Qaeda have failed to gain widespread support in Afghanistan, attacks continue against ISAF, Coalition and Transitional Administration targets, as well as UN de-mining teams and NGOs. We continue to help the Transitional Administration counter these threats through support to ISAF and to the Coalition, and by supporting reform of Afghanistan's own security sector.

British Consuls

David Wilshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the honorary British consuls, indicating (a) where they are based, (b) their nationality, (c) their date of appointment and (d) how much they are paid.

Mike O'Brien: We currently have 228 honorary consuls, honorary vice-consuls, consular representatives and consular agents of various nationalities providing consular services worldwide. They are paid an honorarium of up to a maximum of 1,835.00 per annum.
	I have placed a copy of the list of honorary consuls in the Library of the House.

British High Commissioner to India

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs who the next British High Commissioner to India will be.

Jack Straw: The next High Commissioner to India will be Michael Arthur. This appointment was announced on 17 April 2003.

Diplomatic Estate

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many new (a) embassies, (b) embassy residences, (c) high commissions and (d) high commission residences (i) have been built since 1997 and (ii) are planned to be built in the next year; in which countries; and if he will list the cost of each project.

Jack Straw: The embassy and high commission accommodation that the FCO has constructed since 1997, and that planned for the current year, with the cost of each completed project is listed below.
	The estimated cost of future projects is being withheld under exemption 7 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information, because the release of this information could compromise the tendering process.
	
		000
		
			 Post Project Cost 
		
		
			  
			  
			 Construction projects completed since 1997 
			 Accra New visa office 3,075 
			 Algiers Staff house 180 
			 Algiers Embassy office fit-out 630 
			 Algiers Staff accommodation 230 
			 Almaty Fitout extension to Embassy offices 150 
			 Almaty Fitout visa office 380 
			 Antananarivo Embassy office fitout 515 
			 Asuncion Embassy office fitout 390 
			 Baku Embassy office fitout 1,990 
			 Bangalore Trade office fitout 405 
			 Beirut Embassy office fitout 1,470 
			 Bogota Embassy office fitout 1,310 
			 Boston Consulate-General office fitout 980 
			 Bratislava Ambassador's residence 1,960 
			 Bratislava Embassy office fitout 460 
			 Caracas Embassy office fitout 1,780 
			 Chongqing Consulate-General office fitout 240 
			 Dar es Salaam High Commission (and DfID) offices 7,490 
			 Dili Ambassador's residence 330 
			 Freetown 2 staff houses 265 
			 Guangzhou Consulate-General office fitout 470 
			 Guangzhou Visa office fitout 360 
			 Guatemala Embassy office fitout 385 
			 Hong kong Passport office fitout 900 
			 Jakarta Visa/Consular office fitout 375 
			 Karachi Visa office and nine staff houses 4,200 
			 Kigali Embassy office fitout 290 
			 Kyiv Ambassador's residence 1,100 
			 Kyiv Visa office fitout 380 
			 Lagos Visa office 4,325 
			 Lima Embassy office fitout 1,340 
			 Los Angeles Consulate-General office fitout 1,075 
			 Madrid New Cons office ingoings 79 Recoletos 680 
			 Malaga New office ingoings 185 
			 Mbabane High Commission offices fitout 400 
			 Monterrey Consulate offices fitout 345 
			 Moscow Embassy offices, 33 staff flats, clinic and amenities 103,540 
			 Moscow Staff flats 2,810 
			 New Delhi Six staff houses 1,900 
			 Paris Consular and visa office fitout 1,075 
			 Peking Embassy offices extension 1,275 
			 Peking Consular/visa offices 961 
			 Phnom Penh Ambassador's residence fitout 210 
			 Pretoria Visa office extension 530 
			 Pristina New office fitout 695 
			 Pyongyang Embassy office fitout 420 
			 Pyongyang Ambassador's residence and staff accommodation 890 
			 Quito Embassy offices fitout 840 
			 San Salvador Embassy offices fitout 1,020 
			 Sao Paulo New offices fitout 730 
			 Sarajevo Embassy offices fitout 445 
			 Seattle Consulate-General offices fitout 100 
			 Sofia Embassy offices 2,020 
			 St. Georges High Commission offices fitout 130 
			 St. Petersburg Consul-General's residence 1,200 
			 Tallinn Embassy offices 1,685 
			 Tbilisi Interim Embassy offices fitout 615 
			 Tbilisi Ambassador's residence 1,050 
			 Tegucigalpa New offices fitout 160 
			 Tehran Visa office 920 
			 Tripoli Embassy offices 830 
			 Valetta High Commission offices fitout 1,060 
			 Vilnius Ambassador's residence 1,050 
			 Yerevan Embassy offices 3,020 
			 Yerevan Fitout new residence 353 
			 Zagreb Embassy offices fitout 1,110 
			 Zagreb Visa office fitout 520 
			  Current construction and projects planned for 200304 
			 Abidjan Embassy office fitout  
			 Asmara Embassy office fitout  
			 Athens Embassy office extension  
			 Baghdad Temporary Embassy offices  
			 Cairo Visa office  
			 Cape Town Consulate-General office fitout  
			 Chennai Visa office  
			 Chisinau Fitout Embassy office and residence  
			 Conakry Embassy office fitout  
			 Dubai Six staff houses  
			 Dushanbe Embassy offices and Ambassador's residence  
			 Kabul Interim Embassy offices and staff accommodation  
			 Kathmandu Visa office  
			 Kingston New visa office  
			 Lagos Eight staff houses  
			 Ljubjlana Ambassador's residence (conversion and fitout)  
			 Luxembourg Embassy offices fitout  
			 Mexico City Consulate offices fitout  
			 Portimao Consulate offices fitout  
			 Tbilisi Embassy offices fitout  
			 Tunis Embassy offices

Energy Efficiency

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what targets his Department has established for improving energy efficiency; and how he intends to achieve those targets.

Jack Straw: I refer the right hon. and learned Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Brecon and Radnorshire (Mr. Williams) by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Mr. Rammell) on 9 June 2003, Official Report, column 640W.

Gibraltar

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether it is his policy to seek joint sovereignty of Gibraltar with the Government of Spain.

Denis MacShane: I refer my hon. Friend to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary to the House on 12 July 2002, Official Report, column 1165.

Gibraltar

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether it is his policy that the people of Gibraltar shall be entitled to vote in the 2004 European Parliamentary elections.

Denis MacShane: Yes.

Guantanamo Bay

Martin Caton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the term unlawful combatants in relation to detainees held in Camp X-ray, Guantanamo Bay.

Mike O'Brien: The status of the detainees under international law depends on the facts of each individual case and is ultimately a matter for the US, as the detaining power.
	Whatever their status, the detainees are entitled to humane treatment and, if prosecuted, a fair trial. The US has said that the detainees are being treated humanely and consistently with the principles of the Geneva Conventions. We understand that the US has made no decisions on prosecution.
	We are pressing the US to come to a decision on the detainees' future.

Guantanamo Bay

Jackie Lawrence: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on when British nationals in Guantanamo Bay will be charged or released.

Mike O'Brien: We have been informed that the United States authorities have not yet made a decision to charge or release any of the British nationals detained at Guantanamo Bay. However, we are in regular contact with the US authorities about the situation of the detainees. We are pressing the United States authorities to move forward with the process of determining the detainees' future and shall continue to do so.

Iraq

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what evidence has been discovered of mass killings and torture in Iraq under Saddam Hussein's regime; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: holding answer 16 June 2003
	As documented in the FCO's December 2002 dossier Saddam HusseinCrimes and Human Rights Abuses, the human rights record under Saddam Hussein was appalling. The dossier examines Iraq's record on torture, the treatment of women, prison conditions, arbitrary and summary killings, the persecution of the Kurds and Shia, the harassment of opposition figures outside Iraq and the occupation of Kuwait. It is based on the testimony of Iraqi exiles, evidence gathered by human rights organisations and intelligence material.
	Since the fall of the regime, information and testimonies are emerging that reveal a scale of torture and killing perpetrated by the regime which was arguably even greater than feared.
	One example is that the UK team of forensic experts currently working in Iraq estimate that there may be at least 50 mass graves in Iraq and that more than 300,000 people may have been murdered.

Mr. George Atkinson

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  whether he is making representations to ensure that Mr. George Atkinson will be released from custody in Dubai on or before 1 September 2003;
	(2)  whether he has sought assurances from the Government of Dubai that Mr. George Atkinson will be deported to the United Kingdom when he is released;
	(3)  pursuant to his answer of 10 April 2003, Official Report, column 370W, whether he expects Mr. George Atkinson will be released from custody in Dubai on 1 September 2003.

Mike O'Brien: The UAE courts sentenced George Atkinson to six years imprisonment for financial crimes and payment of fines and compensation totalling approximately 1,560,000. George Atkinson is currently serving an additional six-month sentence for non-payment of fines. The Dubai Ruler's Court has informed George Atkinson's lawyers that he can expect to be released at the end of this period on 1 September 2003. The original judgement also indicated that Mr. Atkinson will be deported from the UAE on completion of the sentence.

Oman

David Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what efforts the UK Government has made to resolve the dispute over the legality of the travel ban imposed upon Mr. Jonathan Brown, a constituent, by the Omani Government in August 2000.

Mike O'Brien: Our embassy in Muscat has sought clarification from the Omani Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) on several occasions as to the status of the travel ban against Mr. Brown. The MFA maintains that the travel ban has been properly constituted. A copy of the ban order has been translated by the embassy and passed to Mr. Brown. Mr. Brown continues to argue that the travel ban is illegal, but despite several requests that he provide a legal opinion to support his position, he has not yet been able to do so.

Oman

David Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on what basis the Government, via its embassy in Oman, issued the warning that limited the right of travel of Mr. Jonathan Brown, a constituent, as a condition of returning his passport.

Mike O'Brien: This Government did not issue the warning that limited Mr. Jonathan Brown's right of travel. The warning originated from the Omani Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Oman

David Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the UK Government and its embassy in Oman took to ensure that the travel ban imposed on Mr. Jonathan Brown, a constituent, by the Omani Government, on 21 August 2000, was legal and properly served.

Mike O'Brien: Our embassy has communicated Mr. Brown's concerns over the travel ban imposed on him to the Omani Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). The MFA confirmed that the proper legal procedures had been followed. Our embassy has undertaken to contact the MFA again if, for example, Mr. Brown's lawyer can provide a legal opinion supporting Mr. Brown's contentions.

Oman

David Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent steps the UK Government has taken to secure the return to the UK from Oman of Mr. Jonathan Brown, a constituent; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: Mr. Brown has been involved in a commercial dispute in Oman since mid-2000. Our embassy has been providing all the consular assistance they properly can since Mr. Brown's case came to their attention. Mr. Brown is not detained but unable to leave Oman until he meets the approximately 10,000 judgment against him.
	Most recently, on 19 May 2003, our ambassador in Muscat wrote to Mr. Brown advising him to provide the Omani Immigration Service with the routine information requested. Our ambassador also suggested that Mr. Brown consider meeting the costs of the Omani judgement against him in order to facilitate his departure from Oman. Mr. Brown replied that he has chosen not to comply with these requests.
	Our embassy will continue to do all they properly can to help, but, at the moment, action rests with Mr. Brown.

South Atlantic Council

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  which (a) Government Ministers and (b) officials from his Department will attend the South Atlantic Council meeting in Buenos Aires later this year;
	(2)  what offers of assistance have been made by the British Ambassador to Argentina to the South Atlantic Council towards its forthcoming conference in Buenos Aires.

Jack Straw: We are unaware of any plans for a meeting of the South Atlantic Council in Buenos Aires this year. However, a meeting of the Argentine British Conference will be held in Buenos Aires on 2526 October, for which the British Ambassador has agreed to offer a reception at his Residence. No decisions have yet been taken on UK participation at the meeting.

Zimbabwe

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs from which councils of the Commonwealth Zimbabwe is suspended.

Jack Straw: Zimbabwe is suspended from all Councils of the Commonwealth. This includes the Commonwealth Science Council. The Commonwealth Secretariat and members of the Commonwealth ensured that, at the Commonwealth Science Council meetings in Johannesburg in the week of 9 June, the terms of the suspension were observed.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Civil Servants

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many new entrants to the Civil Service were employed in her Department in each of the last five years; and how many in each year were aged 50 or over.

Richard Caborn: The total number of new entrants to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in each of the last five years and the number of those aged 50 or over is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Year Total Aged 50 or over 
		
		
			 199899 17 3 
			 19992000 35 1 
			 200001 27 2 
			 200102 41 2 
			 200203 54 4

Departmental Annual Reports

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the cost was of publishing her Department's annual report in each of the past five years; and if she will provide a breakdown of the costs incurred.

Richard Caborn: The cost of publishing the Department's annual report for each of the past five years was as follows:
	
		Annual report costs 19982003 -- 
		
			 Year 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 Design, typesetting, pdfs etc 46,142 40,212 45,144 56,105 45,524 
			 Print (Buy back of copies from the Stationery Office(1)) 25,000 18,310 24,648 24,774 18,140 
			 Proof reading  648 533 570 80 
			 Total 71,142 59,170 70,325 (2)81,449 63,744 
		
	
	(1) DCMS was responsible for print and distribution for the 2003 annual report as this was found to be a more cost effective option than going through The Stationery Office.
	(2) The costs for 2002 included the development of a new design template which the Department plans to follow for the next three years.

Departmental Budget

John Greenway: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the Department's Exchequer Budget for sport and related projects was in (a) 200102 and (b) 200203; how much underspend there was in the Exchequer Budget; and how much funding was carried over under end-year flexibility arrangements.

Richard Caborn: holding answer 16 June 2003
	For 200102 I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 2 December 2002, Official Report, columns 54142W. The information for 200203 will be published in the Department's 200203 Resource Accounts in the autumn.

HMS Vengeance

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations she has received from groups and individuals seeking to bring the former HMS Vengeance back to the UK as a naval heritage museum; what plans she has to assist this venture; and if she will make a statement.

Estelle Morris: The right hon. Member for Suffolk, Coastal (Mr. Gummer), wrote to the Secretary of State in June 2002 about the 'Save the Vengeance Appeal', seeking guidance and support on behalf of campaigners for the return of the vessel to the UK. Two letters seeking support for this vessel have also been received from members of the public. The Government welcomes the efforts of those involved in the preservation of the country's maritime heritage. However, we do not provide direct financial support for the acquisition, movement or conservation of historic ships, other than through the provision of grant-in-aid to those museums, funded by the Department, which hold vessels of historic significance in their collections.

Landmarks

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent assessment she has made of the conservation of literary landmarks.

Estelle Morris: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has made no assessment of the conservation of literary landmarks. However, English Heritage offers grants for the repair and conservation of historic buildings, monuments, areas and historic parks and gardens. The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) distributes money raised by the National Lottery to support all aspects of heritage in the UK, from historic buildings and museums to archives, nature conservation and oral history. The HLF provides both capital grants (for buildings and equipment) and time-limited activity grants. Further information is available from both organisations.

Landmarks

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much has been spent on conserving landmarks broken down by (a) type and (b) region in each of the last 10 years.

Estelle Morris: The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, information about the types of grant available for conservation of this historic environment is available at the English Heritage (EH) and Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) websites. The HLF are also developing a searchable database of Heritage Lottery Fund grants on their site.

Landmarks

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many landmarks have been identified by her Department for conservation broken down by region in each of the last 10 years.

Estelle Morris: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is not responsible for identifying landmarks for conservation. Planning Policy Guidance Note 16 issued by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister makes clear that detailed development plans (i.e. local and unitary development plans) should include policies for the protection, enhancement and preservation of sites of archaeological interest and of their settings.

Official Spelling

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make it her policy that all official (a) correspondence, (b) reports and (c) documentation from her office use the English spelling of words where this differs from the US version.

Richard Caborn: DCMS follows guidance on the Handling of Ministerial and Other Correspondence issued by the Cabinet Office which emphasises that the quality of all written material and correspondence is of a high standard and in line with guidance on Plain Written English.
	DCMS Departmental publications are also prepared in line with Guidance on the Work of the Government Information and Communication Service.

Regulatory Bodies

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list the (a) number of staff employed by and (b) budget of each regulatory body for which her Department is responsible in each year since 1997.

Richard Caborn: Information about the number of staff and financial details for my Department's sponsored bodies since 1997 are contained in the Cabinet Office's annual publication Public Bodies. Copies of Public Bodies for 1997 to 2002 are available in the Libraries of the House.

Rural Proofing

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she last met the Chairman of the Countryside Agency to discuss rural proofing.

Kim Howells: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on 12 June 2003, Official Report, column 1017W, by my right hon. Friend the Minister for Rural Affairs.

Tourism

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much was spent by (a) domestic and (b) foreign tourists in the UK in each quarter for each of the last 10 years.

Richard Caborn: The available data on quarterly expenditure by domestic and foreign tourists in the UK over the last 10 years are shown in the table.
	
		Quarterly expenditure by domestic and foreign tourists in the UK for each of the last 10 years(3) --  million
		
			 Quarter Expenditure by foreign tourists in the UK Expenditure by UK tourists in the UK 
		
		
			 Q1 1993 1,658  
			 Q2 1993 2,193  
			 Q3 1993 3,516  
			 Q4 1993 2,120  
			 1993 total 9,487  
			
			 Q1 1994 1,688  
			 Q2 1994 2,343  
			 Q3 1994 3,649  
			 Q4 1994 2,105  
			 1994 total 9.786  
			
			 Q2 1995 2,768  
			 Q3 1995 4,162  
			 Q4 1995 2,803  
			 1995 total 11,763 20,072 
			
			 Q1 1996 2,175  
			 Q2 1996 3,021  
			 Q3 1996 4,225  
			 Q41996 2,869  
			 1996 total 12,290 22,041 
			
			 Q1 1997 2,165  
			 Q2 1997 2,979  
			 Q3 1997 4,229  
			 Q4 1997 2,870  
			 1997 total 12,244 24,137 
			
			 Q1 1998 2,250  
			 Q2 1998 3,200  
			 Q3 1998 4,212  
			 Q4 1998 3,009  
			 1998 total 12,671 22,814 
			
			 Q1 1999 2,412  
			 Q2 1999 3,064  
			 Q3 1999 4,148  
			 Q4 1999 2,874  
			 1999 total 12,498 25,635 
			   
			 Q1 2000 2,314 4,202 
			 Q2 2000 3,297 6,993 
			 Q3 2000 4,284 8,998 
			 Q4 2000 2,911 5,940 
			 2000 total 12,805 26,133 
			
			 Q1 2001 2,406 4,303 
			 Q2 2001 2,815 5,801 
			 Q3 2001 3,819 9,207 
			 Q4 2001 2,266 6,782 
			 2001 total 11,306 26,094 
			
			 Q1 2002 2,065 5,096 
			 Q2 2002 2,946 6,892 
			 Q3 2002 4,068 8,521 
			 Q4 2002 2,780 6,192 
			 2002 total 11,859 26,699 
		
	
	(3) Quarterly data from the UK Tourism Survey is only available back to the start of 2000 due to a significant change in the survey methodology in 1999. Annual totals from 199599 were subsequently reworked to allow comparison with the data for 2000 onwards.
	Sources:
	International Passenger Survey, UK Tourism Survey

Tourism

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans she has to reverse the recent fall in monthly tourism nights taken by holiday makers in England.

Richard Caborn: The most recent statistics from the UK Tourism Survey show that UK residents took more monthly tourism nights in the UK in January and February this year than they did in the same period in 2002.
	Statistics from the Office for National Statistics show that the total number of international visits to the UK, including all types of visits rather than just holidays, fell around the time of the recent war in Iraq. However figures for new arrivals in the UK in April 2003 indicate that visitor levels are recovering quickly following the end of the war.
	VisitBritain is responsible for promoting Britain overseas and England domestically. On St. George's Day a new campaign called 'Enjoy England' was launched, to promote England as a tourist destination to the domestic market. A US advertising campaign was launched in June targeting key American 'gateway' cities; this campaign is a unique partnership between the public and private sectors. VisitBritain is also currently planning a European 'British Cities' campaign to be launched in autumn 2003, marketing British cities, including some 'Capital of Culture' candidates.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Air Guns

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans his Department has to reduce the number of crimes carried out with the use of air guns.

Caroline Flint: The Government are determined to tackle the increasing problem of air weapon misuse. We are increasing from 14 years to 17 the age at which a person can own an air weapon and introducing further controls on their use without adult supervision. In addition, we are introducing a new offence of having an air weapon in a public place without lawful cause or reasonable excuse. These measures will mean that any unsupervised young person seen with an air weapon can be arrested before any further offence can be committed. In addition, any adult who has one in public may be asked to explain himself and, if he does not have a good reason for having the weapon, arrested.

Asylum Seekers

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of asylum seekers in detention have been assessed as having a mental disorder.

Beverley Hughes: This information is not held centrally.

Drug Addicts

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions Ministers have had with drug addicts being treated with (a) methadone, (b) subutex and (c) naltrexone.

Caroline Flint: Ministers regularly visit drug agencies, family groups and organisations including individuals being treated with methadone, subutex and naltrexone, both in their constituency and across the country.
	Ministers use these opportunities to engage directly with drug misusers to gain better understanding of their experiences.

Drug Addicts

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many car offences are estimated to have been committed by drug addicts in 2002.

Caroline Flint: Recorded crime figures include statistics on drugs offences, such as possession, and on acquisitive crimes, such as vehicle crime, but do not record whether the latter are related to an offender's drug habits.

Drug Addicts

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many shop-lifting offences are estimated to have been committed by drug addicts in 2002.

Caroline Flint: Recorded crime figures include statistics on drugs offences, such as possession, and on acquisitive crimes, such as shoplifting, but do not record whether the latter are related to an offender's drug habits.

Drug Addicts

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much the Government will spend on drug treatments in 200304; and what proportion of this will be spent on methadone maintenance programmes.

Caroline Flint: Direct annual expenditure on drug treatment will increase to 438 million in 200304 from 367 million in 200203.
	Spend on methadone maintenance in 200304 will be determined by Drug Action Teams and Primary Care Trusts on the basis of local need, in line with the National Treatment Agency's Models of Care framework which includes prescribing services.
	In 200203 The National Treatment Agency have estimated that the proportion of direct annual expenditure allocated to prescribing services including methadone was 26 per cent. of total treatment spend.

Drug Addicts

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what visits Home Office Ministers have made to (a) Sweden and the (b) Netherlands to look at drugs treatment in the last five years. (119329)
	 Question number missing in Hansard, possibly truncated question.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 13 June 2003
	My hon. Friend the former Parliamentary Under-Secretary with responsibility for co-ordination of National Anti-Drugs Strategy (Bob Ainsworth) had informal discussions with a Dutch official last autumn to inform him about the operation of the Dutch coffee shop policy. No other Home Office Minister has been to Sweden or the Netherlands to look at drugs treatment there during the last five years. However, Home Office Ministers are very familiar with drug policies and practice in those countries through frequent contacts with ministerial colleagues there and through advice from officials and others who keep in close touch with developments.

Drug Addicts

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many refusals to take drug tests in police stations there have been in the first five months of 2003.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 13 June 2003
	The latest published data, covering the period from July 2001 to 31 October 2002, from the nine police stations in the drug testing pilot programme show that of the 6,413 tests conducted less than 2.5 per cent. resulted in refusal or invalid tests. The refusal rate during this period was 0.76 per cent. Data for the first five months of 2003 is being processed but the indications are that the refusal rate remains low.

Drug Addicts

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what visits have been made to Sweden by Home Office Drug Directorate and National Treatment Agency officials in the last five years.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 13 June 2003
	The Home Office Drugs Strategy Directorate and the National Treatment Agency have been in existence only since 2001. No official visits have been made by staff of either organisation to Sweden since then. However, Home Office and National Treatment Agency officials are very familiar with drug policies and practice in Sweden through frequent formal and informal contacts with Swedish officials and practitioners in a variety of international forums, attendance at national and international conference at which Swedish representatives have spoken and through research into the approaches of other jurisdictions carried out in the course of their everyday work.

Drug Addicts

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what treatment is being given to the drug addicts in treatment in the UK broken down by method.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 13 June 2003
	Treatment information from the Regional Drug Misuse Databases for six months ending March 2001. A breakdown is provided in the table. Data for 2002/03 are currently being collated.
	
		
			 Type of agency Percentage of reported agency episodes 
		
		
			 General practice: 5.3 
			 Private  
			 NHS funded  
			 Police surgeon: 0.5 
			 Community based drug service: 84.0 
			 Statutory  
			 Non-statutory  
			 Hospital in-patient treatment: 1.0 
			 Statutory  
			 Private  
			 Non-statutory  
			 Hospital out-patient treatment: 0.1 
			 Statutory  
			 Private  
			 Drug dependency unit (DDU) in-patient: 3.0 
			 Drug dependency unit (DDU) out-patient:  
			 Residential rehabilitation: 2.3 
			 Statutory  
			 Private  
			 Non-statutory  
			 Day care service: 1.2 
			 Statutory  
			 Private  
			 Non-statutory  
			 Other: 3.0

Drug Addicts

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many drug addicts treated in 2001 were in employment 12 months later in (a) Bassetlaw and (b) the UK.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 13 June 2003
	The National Treatment Agency do not currently collect data on the employment status of drug addicts 12 months after treatment.
	However, Progress2Work is a Department of Work and Pensions led initiative which commenced in April 2002. It aims to help people with a history of illegal drug misuse to engage in mainstream employment provision and to secure and sustain jobs.
	At the end of January 2003, of the 1,603 starts nationally on Progress2Work some 279 (17 per cent.) of clients attained a job outcome (including supported employment). A further 404 (25 per cent.) have gone into other outcomes such as Jobcentre Plus mainstream provision and training. It is expected that the proportion of job outcomes will rise during 2003.

Entitlement Card Consultation

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many responses to the entitlement card consultation were received via the Stand website; and how many were (a) in favour and (b) against.

Beverley Hughes: 5,031 emails have been received via the Stand website. 4,856 expressed views against an entitlement card scheme, 44 expressed views in favour. A further 131 contained obvious false information, for example a made-up email address or were judged highly likely to be duplicates.

EU Constitution

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations he has received on the draft EU constitution.

Caroline Flint: I have received written representations from hon. Members both in their own capacity and on behalf of the public.

Gun Amnesty

Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the results of the gun amnesty.

Caroline Flint: Final figures from police forces will be available shortly. We will use these to publish a detailed breakdown of the items handed in. Latest police estimates indicate that over 40,000 guns were handed in during the amnesty, along with nearly a million rounds of ammunition.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Dangerous Driving

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to promote legislation to increase maximum sentences for offences where motorists kill or injure others through reckless or dangerous driving.

Paul Murphy: The Northern Ireland Office published a consultation paper on road traffic penalties on 10 March of this year; the consultation period lasts three months and will end on 9 June 2003. In total, the paper makes some 25 recommendations dealing with various road traffic issues; among these are proposals to increase the maximum penalties for causing death or grievous bodily injury by dangerous driving or by careless driving while under the influence of alcohol from 10 to 14 years. A report of recommendations will be published in the autumn and legislation will follow when parliamentary time allows.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Adviser Discretion Fund

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much has been spent by the adviser discretion fund in each month since July 2001; and what the projected cost is over the next 12 months.

Des Browne: From 7 April, the Fund has been extended to people who have been in receipt of benefit for six months or more. Payments from the Fund are awarded on a discretionary basis to help people overcome barriers that prevent them from applying for or taking up a job. An increase in the number of awards is expected because of the extended eligibility.
	The Adviser Discretion Fund is one of a number of programmes managed locally to meet individual needs of individual customers. As such no separate budget for the Fund is set and the amount spent will depend on local circumstances. Therefore, we do not have a figure for the projected cost of the Adviser Discretion Fund over the next 12 months.
	Information on awards made through the Adviser Discretion Fund since July 2001 is in the table.
	
		Awards made through the Adviser Discretion Fund
		
			 Month/Year Number of awards Value of Awards() 
		
		
			 2001   
			 July 4,331 215,216 
			 August 7,086 399,327 
			 September 8,821 525,822 
			 October 9,594 565,114 
			 November 12,327 787,215 
			 December 7,660 491,621 
			 2002   
			 January 11,524 693,955 
			 February 13,432 783,235 
			 March 19,242 1,226,270 
			 April 15,562 1,254,727 
			 May 21,014 1,528,999 
			 June 15,869 1,094,076 
			 July 16,976 1,145,953 
			 August 17,818 1,377,355 
			 September 18,433 1,196,375 
			 October and November(4) 28,781 2,599,520 
			 December 7,149 664,354 
			 2003   
			 January 19,695 1,767,733 
			 February 19,482 1,774,501 
			 March 20,538 1,881,413 
			 Total 295,334 21,972,781 
		
	
	(4) Information for the months of October and November 2002 is not available separately.
	Source
	July 2001 to September 2002clerical count of Adviser Discretion Fund cases.
	October 2002 to March 2003taken directly from information input to the LMS computer system.

Angel Group

Peter Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list the properties acquired by the Angel Group and its subsidiaries from the Department and its agencies, and the (a) dates and (b) costs of their acquisition.

Malcolm Wicks: The Department has not sold any properties to the Angel Group.

Asbestos

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list the actions his Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies are taking to comply with the requirements of the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002; if he has made an estimate of the cost of compliance; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: Plans are in place to ensure that this Department will be fully compliant with the new Regulation 4 of the Control of Asbestos at Work (CAW) regulations 2002 by the required date of 21 May 2004. A programme to carry out the required surveying and risk assessment work is due to begin this summer. The cost of compliance has not been estimated. Asbestos registers have been held for some time for individual buildings and condition inspections of known asbestos are carried out at least annually. There are regular checks are to ensure compliance with relevant legislation.

Employment Action Teams

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  where peripatetic employment action team advisors are present across the Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency; how regularly they use these locations; and if he will estimate the number of users at each location;
	(2)  what internal estimates of working age employment rates in each ward of the Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency informed the selection of wards for employment action team status.

Des Browne: The outreach location used by the Middlesbrough Action Team for Jobs in the Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency is in the Hemlington Initiative Centre, Cass House Road. Action Team Advisers attend the Centre twice a week and, on average, see 10 clients on each visit.
	In 2001, Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland was chosen as an Action Teams for Jobs area because the local authority was ranked as one of the 30 with the lowest labour market participation in Great Britain.
	The selection of wards within the area to be covered by the Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency was based on the proportion of the working age population not in employment. The wards targeted had a working age employment rate of 58.5 per cent. or below at the time of selection.
	The office for National Statistics does not produce employment rates down to individual wards from the Labour Force Survey. For this specific purpose a one off exercise was carried out to calculate data at ward level in Action Team areas. At ward level there is a larger margin of error and so a combination of data, including benefit recipient data, was used to rank wards in Action Team Local Authority Districts.
	The following table shows the employment rates for wards in the Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency derived from this exercise.
	
		Percentage
		
			 Constituency Wards Employment Rates 
		
		
			 Park End 44.8 
			 Easterside 46.3 
			 Hemlington 56.0 
			 Stainton and Thornton 58.4 
			 Newham 79.1 
			 Marton 82.1 
			 Nunthorpe 87.6 
		
	
	Source:
	Jobcentre Plus

Health and Safety Executive

Archie Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his answer of 7 March 2003, Official Report, column 1259W, on the Health and Safety Executive, what the total pay costs incurred by the Health and Safety Executive were in each year since 1997.

Des Browne: The information requested is given in the table.
	
		
			 Financial Year 000s 
		
		
			 199697 116,074 
			 199798 117,762 
			 199899 119,633 
			 19992000 124,339 
			 200001 130,234 
			 200102 136,323

Health and Safety Executive

Brian Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many inspectors were employed by the Health and Safety Executive's Field Operations Directorate in each of the last 10 years.

Des Browne: The information is in the table:
	
		Inspectors in HSE's field operations directorate -- Staff in post figures 19932002
		
			  Total 
		
		
			 1 April 1993 932.5 
			 1 April 1994 941.5 
			 1 April 1995 (5)864.5 
			 1 April 1996 (6)793.4 
			 1 April 1997 (7)779.8 
			 1 April 1998 783.3 
			 1 April 1999 852.5 
			 1 April 2000 (8)898.3 
			 1 April 2001 (9)954.3 
			 1 April 2002 954.5 
		
	
	Notes:
	(5) New Treasury rules for calculating figures for staff working part-time came into operation at 1.4.95;
	(6) From 1.4.96 HSE divisions were restructured;
	(7) During 199697 there were transfers of posts between Safety Policy Directorate, Chemical and Hazardous Installations Divisions, Field Operations Directorate, Nuclear Safety Directorate and Offshore Safety Division following the Review of Senior Management;
	(8) Reorganisation of HSE 1 April 2000
	(9) Field Operations Directorate and HM Railway Inspectorate brigaded May 2000

Health and Safety Executive

Brian Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what impact the recently announced cut in the budget of the Health and Safety Executive will have on its performance.

Des Browne: There has not been a cut in the budget of the Health and Safety Executive. The SR2002 settlement provided for an increase in the HSC/E's resource budget of 4 million in 200304, 4 million in 200405 and 2 million in 200506. HSE's capital budget has been increased by 60 million to cover the on-balance sheet PFI deal for the replacement of HSL's laboratories.
	The Health and Safety Commission has been determining its priorities for 200304 onwards. Resources are being focused on targets and objectives so that resource is allocated according to risk and where HSC/E can have most impact in reducing risk.

Lost Working Days

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average number of working days lost per person in his Department and its agencies was in each of the last six years.

Malcolm Wicks: The information requested is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the table.
	
		
			 Period Average days lost per person 
		
		
			 1 April 2001 to 31 March 2002 14.17 
			 1 April 2002 to 31 March 2003 14.27 
		
	
	Note:
	Based on the number of staff in post on 31 March
	The Department is committed to managing sick absences effectively and in reducing the number of days lost.

Pension Credit

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to inform pensioners of their eligibility for the pension credit; and what the costs of such plans are.

Malcolm Wicks: The Pension Service has begun to write to pensioner households to explain Pension Credit and to invite advance applications. Around 1.8 million people who currently receive the Minimum Income Guarantee have been told that they will be transferred automatically to Pension Credit, ready for payments to be made from October 2003. By June 2004, all pensioner households will have been contacted. This systematic approach will be supported by regional and national advertising. The marketing campaign for Pension Credit is in its early stages and the level of expenditure may change according to need. However, it is currently estimated that media costs, including direct mailing, television and press advertising, will be in the region of 1217 million, excluding VAT, to October 2004.

Pensions

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether his proposed pension insurance scheme will also cover public sector pensions; and whether public sector employees will be expected to pay insurance premiums.

Malcolm Wicks: The Green Paper response (Cm 5835) notes, the Pensions Protection Fund will cover all employees in defined benefit pension schemes other than those in public sector schemes where benefits are guaranteed by government. The levy will be payable by relevant employers, not employees in either the public or private sectors.

Race Relations

Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what progress has been made in his Department and non departmental public bodies on implementing the requirements of the Race Relations Amendment Act 2000; and if he will publish the results of the monitoring required by the Act.

Malcolm Wicks: We will be publishing a revised Race Equality Scheme on Friday 11 July. This will set out the Department's progress in implementing the requirements of the Race Relations Amendment Act 2000, including the position on implementing the monitoring requirements of the Act. A copy of the Scheme will be placed in the Library.

Work-First Interviews

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many people have had a work-first interview; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many people who have received a work-first interview and claimed (a) incapacity benefit and (b) disability benefit did not have a first Level 2 qualification; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  how many people who have received a work-first interview have been registered as (a) unemployed and (b) inactive; how many of those have gone onto (i) incapacity benefit and (ii) other disability benefits; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: The information on the number of Work Focused Interviews is available only by client types not by benefit claimed and so it is not possible to provide a breakdown between incapacity benefit and other disability benefits.
	Since the introduction of jobseekers allowance (JSA) in 1996 customers have to attend a New Jobseekers Interview before their claim to JSA is valid. From October 2001, customers making a new claim for a non-JSA benefit in Jobcentre Plus areas have had to participate in a Work Focused Interview with a Personal Adviser as a condition of claiming benefits but there is no requirement to look for work.
	From 22 October 2001 to 9 May 2003 a total of 245,914 Work Focused Interviews (JSA and non-JSA) were conducted in Jobcentre Plus offices. A breakdown by client type is only available from 19 November 2001. From that date to 9 May 2003 a total of 238,234 Work Focused Interviews were conducted, of which 175,174 were JSA customers (unemployed and required to actively seek work) and 63,060 were non-JSA (not required to be available for or actively seek work); of these, 37,748 were incapacitated or disabled.
	Information on skill levels gathered through work-focused interviews is not collected centrally and so it is not possible to provide a breakdown by benefit type.

Workplace Health and Safety

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his Department's expenditure on improving health and safety in the workplace is in 200304; and what the level of expenditure was in each year since 200001.

Des Browne: The information in the table reflects the expenditure of the Health and Safety Executive, which is responsible for improving health and safety in the workplace, in each year from 200001:
	
		
			  Cost (000) 
		
		
			 200001 (10)189.400 
			 200102 (10)203.500 
			 200203 (10)193.713 
			 200304 (11)219,000 
		
	
	(10) The information provided for 200001 to 200203 represents the Grant in Aid (cash) drawn by the Health and Safety Executive in each year.
	(11) The information provided for 200304 is the Net Resource Budget which has been voted by Parliament.

Workplace Health and Safety

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many work-related deaths or serious injuries have occurred at workplaces in the Tooting constituency in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many prosecutions have taken place against employers in the Tooting constituency for (a) work-related deaths and (b) serious injuries to their workforce in each of the last three years.

Des Browne: Enforcement of health and safety at work law in certain premises is a matter for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and in other premises for the local authority.
	The number of work-related deaths and major injuries to employees, self-employed people and members of the public reported to HSE in the London borough of Wandsworth in each of the last five years for which figures are available, is in the table.
	
		Table 1
		
			 Year(12) Work-related deaths Major injury 
		
		
			 199798 1 329 
			 199899 3 181 
			 19992000  96 
			 200001 1 85 
			 200102 1 70 
		
	
	The number of work-related deaths and major injuries to employees, self-employed people and members of the public, reported to the London borough of Wandsworth in the same period is as follows:
	
		Table 2
		
			 Year(12) Work-related deaths Major injury 
		
		
			 199798  15 
			 199899  3 
			 19992000  36 
			 200001  37 
			 200102  23 
		
	
	Information at constituency level is not available.
	The number of prosecutions taken by HSE against employers in the London borough of Wandsworth for (a) work-related deaths and (b) major injuries to employees (including trainees) in each of the last three years for which figures are available is as follows:
	
		Table 3
		
			  Separate offences prosecuted 
			 Year(12) Following work-related death Following major injury 
		
		
			 19992000  1 
			 200001 1 1 
			 200102   
		
	
	The number of prosecutions for health and safety at work offences taken by Wandsworth borough council in the same period is as follows:
	
		Table 4
		
			 Year(12) Separate offences prosecuted (all health and safety offences)(13) 
		
		
			 19992000 8 
			 200001  
			 200102 Not yet available 
		
	
	(12) The annual basis is the planning year from 1 April to 31 March.
	(13) Figures for offences prosecuted by local authorities specifically following death or major injury are not available except at disproportionate cost.

Workplace Health and Safety

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when his Department last introduced a nationwide campaign on the importance of health and safety procedures being followed by both employers and employees.

Des Browne: The Government (through the then Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions) and the HSC launched Revitalising Health and Safety in 2000. The strategy stresses the need for employers to improve their health and safety performance to achieve best practice, the contribution of the workforce that understands its own responsibilities and the need for effective partnership between all stakeholders in the health and safety system.

Workplace Health and Safety

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many inspections of building development sites there have been in the Greater London area by health and safety inspectors in each of the last three years.

Des Browne: The information is in the table.
	
		Inspection visits of construction activities in the Greater London Area carried out by HSE Inspectors
		
			 Year Number 
		
		
			 200001 2,540 
			 200102 1,951 
			 200203 2,200

HEALTH

Action On Programmes

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if he will make a statement on (a) the areas involved in the specialties covered by (b) funding for and (c) objectives of the new Action On programmes;
	(2)  if he will make a statement on (a) the areas involved in the specialties covered by (b) funding for and (c) the effectiveness of the existing Action On programmes.

John Hutton: Details of the first four Action On programmes covering ophthalmology; orthopaedics; ear, nose and throat (ENT); and dermatology, their pilot sites and summaries of their main aims and achievements are available on the Action On website: www.modern.nhs.uk/action-on
	Three new Action On programmes began in spring 2003, covering services in general surgery, plastic surgery, and urology. 18 pilot sites in plastic surgery and 15 pilot sites in urology were announced in early May 2003, details of which are also available on the Action On website. Projects in general surgery will be announced in July 2003.
	Existing pilot sites received revenue funding of typically 75,000 per annum over 18 months. In addition to this, a total of more than 75 million capital funding has also been allocated to selected sites in dermatology, ENT and orthopaedics over 200203 and 200304 to increase capacity and support developments in service modernisation.
	Pilot sites for the three new Action On programmes will also receive revenue funding to support the costs of running the project over 18 months. Funding for pilot projects will total 3 million across the three specialties in the current financial year, with a further 1.5 million in 200405.
	From April 2003, all 28 strategic health authorities in England are also being provided with funding totalling 2.5 million over the next two years to employ a local service improvement lead each in order to support the spread of good practice. These posts will support local modernisation initiatives in the Action On specialties, including the three new programmes in plastic surgery, general surgery and urology.
	All capital schemes are required to deliver additional service capacity and waiting time improvements. Cataracts schemes have contributed to the 17 per cent. increase in surgery rates achieved during the first two years of the programme. Action On ENT, dermatology and orthopaedics are still in the process of completion and implementation. However, good practice guidance issued by all four programmes give examples of productivity gains and service improvements at each of the pilot sites. These guides are available on the Action On website.

Drug Dependence

Angela Watkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the cost of treatment for drug dependency and drug related illnesses in London in each of the past five years.

John Hutton: The pooled drug treatment allocations for London were 32 million in 20012 and 43.8 million for 20023. This is an increase of 37 per cent. In addition to this substantial money is also spent on drug treatment from National Health Service mainstream resources the details of which are not held centrally.

Intensive Care Beds

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many intensive care beds there are in NHS hospitals covering the Greater London area.

John Hutton: On the 15 January 2003 (latest data available), there were 660 open and staffed critical care beds in National Health Service trusts in the Directorate of Health and Social Care London area.

PowderJect

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department have met representatives of PowderJect; and who was present at each meeting.

John Hutton: Ministers have had no meetings with PowderJect representatives to discuss the placing of the smallpox vaccine contracts.
	Officials met with representatives from PowderJect on the following dates:
	16 October 2000;
	9 January 2001;
	22 January 2002;
	11 April 2002;
	16 July 2002,
	5 August 2002;
	14 October 2002;
	5 December 2002;
	10 January 2003; and
	29 January 2003.
	The Departmental officials and PowderJect representatives present at each meeting was dependent on the subject to be discussed. As all discussions were confidential, the names of those present are not being revealed. This is in accordance with normal policy.

LORD CHANCELLOR

Asbestos

Vincent Cable: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what actions the Lord Chancellor's Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies are taking to comply with the requirements of the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002; whether an estimate has been made of the cost of compliance; and if she will make a statement.

Christopher Leslie: My Department has ensured that the Managing Agents of it's properties have received guidance and instructions on the new asbestos regulations by means of two Estate Management Notices and the HSE guidance leaflet. A checklist for local managers is being devised. Local compliance will be checked as part of the 200304 Health and Safety risk assessment programme.
	The information with regard to costing is not available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Hotel Accommodation

Norman Baker: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list the amount spent by (a) his Department, (b) its agencies and (c) its non-departmental public bodies on hotel accommodation (i) in the UK and (ii) abroad for (A) Ministers, (B) staff and (C) others, and if he will list the average cost per hotel room, in each year since 1997.

Christopher Leslie: The Government publishes an annual report of ministerial travel overseas. The total cost of ministerial travel provided in the annual report includes the costs of accommodation. The information sought in respect of accommodation within the UK is not held centrally. All travel is conducted in line with the requirements of the ministerial code. For travel by civil servants and others, the information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Legal Aid

Bill Olner: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department where records of default costs certificates showing solicitors charges in legally aided cases are held; whether they are available for inspection by members of the public; and how far back the records go.

David Lammy: Case files which contain copies of default costs certificates are held at local county courts. There is no third party access to these files except through application to a judge at the court where they are held.
	The retention period of a case file is dependent on the type of case (e.g. an adoption case file is kept 75 years). However, as default costs certificates were introduced with the implementation of the Civil Procedure Rules 1998, copies of them would only be available from that date.

PRIME MINISTER

Minister for Pensions

John Taylor: To ask the Prime Minister when he intends to appoint a new Minister for Pensions.

Tony Blair: I have appointed Malcolm Wicks MP as the new Minister of State for Pensions.

Mr. Kenny Richey

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Prime Minister what representations he has made to United States authorities regarding the case of Mr. Kenny Richey.

Tony Blair: The Government are taking what steps we properly can. We are in touch with Mr. Richey's lawyers both in the USA and the UK, as well as with Ohio state officials. The Acting Consul General in Chicago recently attended Mr. Richey's Court of Appeals hearing. We shall continue to monitor his case closely to determine what other representations could be made on his behalf.

Suez Medal

Bob Russell: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to his answer of 11 June 2003, Official Report, column 869W, on the Suez Medal, whether the General Service Medal will be awarded posthumously to those who (a) were killed in action or died from wound and (b) who have died in the years since 1954.

Tony Blair: Where the person concerned was killed in action or has subsequently died, his next of kin can claim his medal subject to proof of service, of kinship and as long as the other eligibility criteria are met.

Tariq Aziz

Tam Dalyell: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to his answer of 10 June 2003, Official Report, column 718W, on trials of senior Iraqi figures, how he intends to help the Iraqi people decide what action to take to bring senior figures to justice, with special reference to Mr. Tariq Aziz.

Tony Blair: A decision has not yet been taken regarding the process for trying senior Iraqi figures. The evaluation and consultative process outlined is still in progress.
	Tariq Aziz voluntarily surrendered to the coalition forces in Baghdad and is currently in custody. It is too early to determine the nature of any criminal charges he might face.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Affordable Housing

Philip Hammond: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the availability of public sector owned land suitable for redevelopment for affordable housing (a) in London and (b) in England.

Keith Hill: English Partnerships have been given a new strategic role on surplus public sector land. As part of that new role, they are in the process of developing a register of surplus public sector land within government. Once the register is completed it should provide a comprehensive picture of surplus government owned land across England.
	In London specifically, English Partnerships have been working with various agencies, including the Greater London Authority, to identify land within London suitable for affordable housing.

Burslem Townscape Heritage Scheme

Joan Walley: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister with reference to the EC decision in respect of a derogation under state aid rules of the English Heritage regeneration scheme, if he will make a statement in respect of the Burslem Townscape Heritage Scheme; and when he expects to clear the decision on the (a) Historic Environment Regeneration (NN985/2002), dated 14 May 2003; and (b) National Heritage Memorial Fund, dated 28 May 2003.

Keith Hill: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is aware of the importance of the Burslem Townscape Heritage Scheme to the regeneration of Stoke. Officials from the Government Office for the West Midlands have been in regular contact with Stoke city council with regard to this scheme. As my hon. Friend notes, the Commission has now approved the provision of additional heritage-related costs under the National Heritage Memorial Fund Scheme and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's Historic Environment Regeneration Scheme. A decision is expected shortly on the English Heritage, Historic Buildings, Monuments, Parks and Gardens Scheme.
	Officials will be happy to meet with those involved in the Burslem Townscape Heritage Scheme to discuss taking forward the project.

Colchester Garrison

Bob Russell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will discuss with the Ministry of Defence the disposal of empty Service family houses at Colchester Garrison; and if he will make arrangements for them to be transferred to a registered social housing landlord.

Keith Hill: Colchester borough council and Colne Housing Society have been working with the Defence Housing Executive (DHE) and Annington Homes for the past four or five and three bed) were leased for three years from the DHE for use as temporary accommodation for homeless families up until October 2001. At the end of the lease, the properties were modernised and sold on the open market. In September 2002 Colne Housing Society entered into a three year lease with Annington Homes, leasing 48 empty three-bedroom homes for use as temporary accommodation for homeless families. This was made possible by the provision of Local Authority Social Housing Grant of 225,000 and a risk-sharing agreement with Colne Housing Society.
	Annington has confirmed that at the end of the three-year lease, it will demolish the 48 houses and redevelop the site with higher density housing.
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister does not feel that it is necessary to get involved in this process. A discussion between the Ministry of Defence and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is not required in this case.

Environmental Impact Assessment Directive

David Lidington: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the Government's (a) plans and (b) timetable are for implementing the EU Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment Directive.

Keith Hill: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has overall responsibility for implementing this Directive (2001/42/EC on the assessment of the effects on the environment of certain plans and programmes) in the UK. It must be transposed into national law by 21 July 2004, and Regulations are being prepared to achieve this. Work is also in hand to develop capacity in the organisations that will have responsibilities for the Directive, including local authorities, regional planning bodies and Government agencies. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has carried out a public consultation exercise on draft guidance for planning authorities on how to meet the Directive's requirements, and the finished guidance will be published later this year.

Fire Service

Phil Willis: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has to trial integrated risk management plans before they are introduced throughout England; and in which fire authorities the trials will take place.

Nick Raynsford: There are no plans to trial integrated risk management plans. Any proposed changes must be evidence based, properly evaluated and subject to consultation.

Housing

Ian Cawsey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what aid and assistance is available for the (a) sale and (b) development of brownfield sites for domestic housing.

Keith Hill: National planning policies encourage the reuse of suitable brownfield sites. Through Planning Policy Guidance Note 3 (PPG3), the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has introduced new measures, including an urban brownfield first policy, to meet the country's housing needs in the most sustainable way. Planning policies for land recycling are backed by a package of fiscal measures worth 1 billion over five years designed to bring empty property back into use and encourage the recycling of land.
	In addition we have made English Partnerships our expert advisor on brownfield land and charged them with considering where and when public sector intervention could be required to bring brownfield sites back into sustainable use. This work will form part of a National Brownfield Strategy which English Partnerships are preparing. Regional Development Agencies are also taking an active role in developing brownfield sites and will be producing Brownfield Land Action Plans in co-operation with other local agencies.

Housing

Oona King: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will commission research into the impact of overcrowding on the health of those families living in one or more bedrooms below the bedroom standard.

Keith Hill: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has been carrying through a research programme to establish the evidence base of the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS), which will replace the housing fitness standard as the basis for intervention by local authorities to tackle unsatisfactory housing conditions. Data from various sources has been collected to provide the evidence to enable housing hazards, including overcrowding, to be assessed and ranked by seriousness. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is satisfied that the research we have already commissioned will provide a sound basis on which to base policy decisions.

Planning

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the compatibility of PPG6 with the conclusions of the 1998 McKinsey report Driving Productivity and Growth in the UK Economy relating to the impact on UK productivity of planning considerations.

Keith Hill: The 1998 McKinsey report was not commissioned by the Government. It assessed the productivity of six sectors of the United Kingdom economy in comparison with the United States and France, one of which was food retailing. For food retailing it showed that the United Kingdom lagged behind the other two countries, but that the primary difference was on labour productivity. The United Kingdom food retail sector scored very highly on productivity in its use of land and capital, and, overall, United Kingdom major food retailers were judged to
	set the global standard.
	Land-use planning and other regulations were considered to account for only a small part of the difference in productivity. Nevertheless, the report suggested that planning policy made it difficult for food retailers to develop large-format stores, which might enable them to better compete and displace less productive retailers. They acknowledged, however, that this took no account of differences between countries or of other public policy objectives.

Planning

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he will issue revised planning policy guidance for town centres and retail developments.

Keith Hill: The draft new PPS6 on town centres will be published for consultation later this summer.

Planning

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the impact of PPG6 on employment levels.

Keith Hill: No such assessment has been undertaken, as it is not possible to isolate the effects of PPG6 on employment.
	What is clear, however, is that retail employment remains a significant and successful contributor to the economy. Employment in the retail industry grew by 340,000 between 1996 and 2002.

Planning

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  what research his Department has undertaken with the Treasury to assess the impact of planning guidelines on (a) UK productivity, (b) employment and (c) the UK economy;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the impact of planning regulations on UK productivity.

Keith Hill: I refer my hon. Friend to the Government's memorandum to the Housing, Planning, Local Government and the Regions Select Committee on Planning, Competitiveness and Productivity. This summarises the research evidence available from my Department's research programme over the last 10 years. The Select Committee also commissioned their own review of the available evidence.
	No research has been undertaken jointly with the Treasury which looks at these specific issues.

Planning

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps his Department has taken on productivity issues related to planning guidelines, in response to the conclusions of the 1998 McKinsey Global Institute study of UK productivity.

Keith Hill: The McKinsey study of UK productivity compared productivity in the UK, France and United States for six sectors. In two, food retailing and hotels, they commented on regulation issues including planning, building and fire regulations.
	The issues related to planning accounted for a very small proportion of the differences in productivity between UK food retailers. Nevertheless, the report suggested that a more relaxed planning regime would assist the development of larger stores. This suggestion was made without regard to national differences of geography, culture or public policy aims.
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has considered the report, and taken its views into account, in developing planning policy.

Pollution

Bill O'Brien: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many pollution permit controls were approved for (a) incineration, (b) composting, (c) landfill and (d) material recovery facilities in the years 1999 to 2002 in the (i) Yorkshire and Humber, (ii) South East, (iii) South West, (iv) North East, (v) North West, (vi) East of England, (vii) East Midlands, (viii) West Midlands and (ix) London regions.

Elliot Morley: I have been asked to reply.
	The table shows information from the Environment Agency's Regulatory Information System (REGIS), as at November 2002, for pollution permitted controls for (a) incineration, (b) composting, (c) landfill and (d) material recovery facilities in the years 1999 to 2002 for each RDA region.
	
		
			 RDA Incineration Composting Landfill material Recovery facilities 
		
		
			 1999 
			 North East Euro Region 0  3 2 
			 North West Euro Region 1 0 5 15 
			 Yorkshire and Humber Euro Region 0 0 6 5 
			 East Midlands Euro Region 0 1 1 3 
			 West Midlands Euro Region 0 0 2 3 
			 Eastern Euro Region 4 0 10 10 
			 Wales Euro Region 0 0 5 7 
			 London Euro Region 0 1 1 3 
			 South East Euro Region 0 1 8 4 
			 South West Euro Region 1 0 5 5 
			 Total 6 3 46 57 
			  
			 2000 
			 North East Euro Region 1 1 2 4 
			 North West Euro Region 0 3 5 21 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside Euro Region 0 0 5 10 
			 East Midlands Euro Region 0 1 6 2 
			 West Midlands Euro Region 1 1 6 4 
			 Eastern Euro Region 1 1 2 3 
			 Wales Euro Region 1 0 2 3 
			 London Euro Region 0 0 1 2 
			 South East Euro Region 0 4 9 9 
			 South West Euro Region 0 0 3 2 
			 Total 4 11 41 60 
			  
			 2001 
			 North East Euro Region 1 0 3 1 
			 Yorkshire and Humber Euro Region 0 0 12 8 
			 North West Euro Region 1 0 2 3 
			 East Midlands Euro Region 0 1 9 1 
			 West Midlands Euro Region 0 0 5 2 
			 Eastern Euro Region 0 1 9 4 
			 Wales Euro Region 1 0 1 5 
			 London Euro Region 0 0 1 1 
			 South East Euro Region 2 1 11 3 
			 South West Euro Region 0 2 13 2 
			 Total 5 5 66 30 
			  
			 2002 
			 North East Euro Region 0 1 0 4 
			 North West Euro Region 0 2 1 7 
			 Yorkshire and Humber Euro Region 2 1 2 3 
			 East Midlands Euro Region 0 1 0 1 
			 West Midlands Euro Region 0 0 2 1 
			 Eastern Euro Region 0 0 1 8 
			 Wales Euro Region 0 1 1 3 
			 London Euro Region 0 0 1 1 
			 South East Euro Region 0 2 1 2 
			 South West Euro Region 0 0 2 4 
			 Total 2 8 11 34

Property Inspection

David Amess: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the inspection of property in multiple occupancy.

Keith Hill: Inspections of houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) are normally carried out by local authority environmental health officers under powers conferred upon the authority by Part XI of the Housing Act 1985. An authority has a right to survey or examine an HMO internally to check to see if it is being used as an HMO and to ensure that it is reasonably suitable for the number of occupants, whether any works are required, that it is not overcrowded, that the management regulations are being complied with, that conditions attached to registration are being adhered to and that any works the authority has required have been carried out to the authority's satisfaction. A person who obstructs an authorised officer (e.g. by refusing entry) is guilty of an offence and subject to a fine not exceeding 2,500. A local authority may apply to a Justice of the Peace for a warrant of entry if admission to the property had been refused. The warrant remains in force until the inspection has been carried out and permits entry by force.

Regeneration Funding

Karen Buck: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the regeneration and other specific grant funding, but not revenue support grant, given by his Department to local authorities (a) in each region of England and (b) in total in (i) 200102, (ii) 200203 and (iii) 200304 (estimated).

Nick Raynsford: Tables setting out the available information have been placed in the Library of the House.
	It should be noted that the table giving England totals is more comprehensive than the tables for individual regions. This is because regional totals for some grants are not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Figures for these grants are therefore given in the England table but not the regional ones.

Social Housing

Bob Spink: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement about the availability of social housing in Castle Point.

Keith Hill: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Castle Point on 13 June 2003, Official Report, column ll56W.

Strategic Environmental ImpactAssessment Directive

David Lidington: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what action he intends to take to ensure his proposals in Sustainable Communities comply with the EU Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment Directive.

Keith Hill: The Communities Plan is a programme of work drawing together numerous Delivery Programmes. As such, it does not itself have an Environmental Impact Assessment or a Strategic Environmental Assessment. As appropriate, individual elements of the Plan will be subject to Strategic Environmental Assessment or an Environmental Impact Assessment at suitable points in the delivery process.

Sustainable Development

Edward Davey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether the departmental strategy for sustainable development has been published; and if he will make a statement on what steps are (a) being taken and (b) planned to take forward the strategy.

Keith Hill: Delivering sustainable development is at the heart of the aims of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. On 5 February this year, we published our plan for building sustainable communities, which seeks to improve the quality of life across the country in support of the UK's Sustainable Development Strategy.

Telecommunications Masts

David Amess: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the procedure for approving applications for mobile phone masts.

Keith Hill: Current planning guidance on telecommunications is set out in Planning Policy Guidance Note 8 (revised). The installation of any telecommunications mast in designated area such as National Parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, conservation areas and Sites of Special Scientific Interest, and of a mast of more than 15 metres in height elsewhere, is subject to a full planning application. The local planning authority (or the Secretary of State on appeal) in the light of development plan policies and any other material considerations, including any relevant representations either for or against the proposal, will decide any such application.
	The Department of Trade and Industry under the Telecommunications Act 1984 license telecommunications operators. Outside the designated areas mentioned above, licensed telecommunications code system operators are authorised under the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995 (GPDO) to install specified telecommunications apparatus without the need to make a planning application to the local authority. Certain types of development however, such as the installation of ground-based masts of up to 15 metres in height, are subject to a prior approval procedure. Prior approval procedures allow the local planning authority the opportunity to say whether it wishes to approve details of the siting and appearance of the installation. If the authority considers that the development will pose a serious threat to amenity, it is able to refuse approval.

Telecommunications Masts

David Amess: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many appeals against decisions to grant mobile phone masts have been allowed in England in each of the last five years.

Keith Hill: The Information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Therefore, the following information relates to appeal decisions about telecommunications development generally.
	
		
			  Appeals received Appeals allowed Appeals dismissed Appeals withdrawn 
		
		
			 1998 146 67 64 15 
			 1999 147 85 52 10 
			 2000 325 191 108 26 
			 2001 621 379 194 44 
			 2002 871 494 293 65 
			 January to May 2003 209 27 14 8 
		
	
	Note:
	All figures relate to the year in which the appeal was received, not necessarily the year it was decided.

Telecommunications Masts

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has to amend the planning system to require sharing of telecommunications masts.

Keith Hill: The Code of Best Practice on Mobile Network Development was published on 11 November 2002. This firmly encourages mast and site sharing where that is the optimum solution in the individual circumstances. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has no plans to amend further the planning arrangements for telecommunications development at the present time.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Abandoned Vehicles

Shona McIsaac: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many abandoned vehicles were collected in North East Lincolnshire in (i) 200001 and (ii) 200102.

Elliot Morley: 267 abandoned vehicles were collected and removed by North East Lincolnshire in 200001. The figure for 200102 was 327.

Carbon Dioxide

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what further cuts beyond 60 per cent. the Government estimates will be necessary after 2050 to stabilise atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations at 550ppm.

Elliot Morley: Analysis carried out both by the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution and by the Department suggests that emission reductions of about 80 per cent. may be required by 2100 to allow stabilisation at 550ppm.

Carbon Dioxide

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment the Government have made of the environmental impacts if carbon dioxide concentrations are stabilised at 550ppm; and what the maximum safe limit is of concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Elliot Morley: The Department has funded research to examine the potential effects of controlling greenhouse gas emissions at a level that would lead to carbon dioxide concentrations being stabilised at 550ppm, compared with taking no action to reduce emissions. There is a high degree of uncertainty, but the research estimates that controlling emissions in this way would, for example, reduce the additional number of people at risk of water stress from three to one billion by the 2080s (compared to the 196190 average). Similarly, the additional number at risk from flooding due to sea level rise would be reduced from 90 million to 20 million.
	The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)'s Third Assessment Report indicates that the impacts of climate change, and the ability to adapt to them, are somewhat uncertain and will vary between regions. The question of what is the maximum safe limit of carbon dioxide is therefore a complex one, and there is as yet no international consensus on the level at which greenhouse gas concentrations should be stabilised. However, in 1996 the EU recognised that, to avoid the serious risks posed by climate change, global average temperatures should not exceed 2oC above the pre-industrial level and that therefore concentration levels lower than 550ppm carbon dioxide should guide global mitigation efforts.

Carbon Dioxide

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide the Government estimate will result from using all global economically recoverable reserves of fossil fuels at current rates.

Elliot Morley: Burning all the economically recoverable reserves of fossil fuels would take the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide to about 850 ppm over the next 250 years.

Carbon Dioxide

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of the global economically recoverable reserves of fossil fuels will need to remain unused in order to stabilise atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide at 550ppm by 2050.

Elliot Morley: Of the global economically recoverable reserves of fossil fuels, almost a half would have to remain unused to allow stabilisation of carbon dioxide at about 550 ppm by 2050.

Asbestos

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  if she will list for each licensed waste disposal site in West Yorkshire with management conditions for holding bonded asbestos the distance between the site and the nearest residential property;
	(2)  if she will list the sites licensed by the Environment Agency to hold bonded asbestos in (a) Leeds and (b) West Yorkshire;
	(3)  what the Environment Agency's agreed tonnage of bonded waste asbestos held at licensed waste disposal sites is in (a) West Yorkshire and (b) Leeds Metropolitan District.

Elliot Morley: The following list provides details of sites licensed to either store or dispose of bonded asbestos within West Yorkshire, the distances between each site and the nearest residential property. The listing also distinguishes between those siteslicensed to store or dispose of bonded asbestos in the Leeds Metropolitan District area and similar sites elsewhere in West Yorkshire, and provides information on the Agency's agreed tonnage of bonded asbestos held at waste disposal sites in a) West Yorkshire and b) in the Leeds Metropolitan District. The list is broken down by local authority area to allow the comparisons requested.
	The maximum waste quantity for bonded asbestos that can be stored at any one time is listed for each waste transfer station, together with the maximum quantity that can be disposed of in any one day for each landfill. Leeds
	Caird Bardon Ltd, Ridge Road, Micklefield.
	Landfill Site.
	The nearest residential property is 2025 metres from the site boundary.
	The site is permitted to accept up to 200 tonnes of asbestos per day.
	Biffa Waste Services Ltd, Pontefract Lane, Rothwell.
	Landfill Site.
	The nearest residential property is within 50 metres of the site boundary.
	The site is permitted to accept up to 250 tonnes of asbestos per day.
	John Aldersons Ltd, Richardshaw Lane, Pudsey.
	Waste Transfer Station.
	The nearest residential property is within 50 metres of the site.
	The site is permitted to store up 35 cubic yards of asbestos at any one time in a lockable skip.
	Rhodar Ltd, Beza Road, Hunslet.
	Waste Transfer Station.
	The nearest residential property is within 20 metres of the site.
	The site is permitted to store up 35 cubic yards of asbestos at any one time in a lockable skip.
	Hinchliffe Ltd, Weaver Street, Kirkstall.
	Waste Transfer Station.
	The nearest residential property is 300 metres from the site.
	The site is permitted to store up to 10 tonnes of asbestos at any one time in a lockable skip.
	Leeds City Council, Evanston Avenue, Kirkstall.
	Waste Transfer Station and Household Waste Site.
	The nearest residential property is within 75 metres from the site.
	The site is permitted to store up to 30 tonnes of asbestos at any one time in a lockable skip.
	J S Miller Ltd, 383 Meanwood Road, Leeds.
	Waste Transfer Station.
	The nearest residential property is 50 metres from the site.
	The site is permitted to store up to 35 cubic yards of asbestos at any one time in a lockable skip.
	Leeds Environmental Organisation Ltd, Carr Crofts, Armley.
	Waste Transfer Station.
	The nearest residential property is 100 metres from the site.
	The site is permitted to store up to 10 tonnes of bonded asbestos in a secure container.
	Bradford
	Gill Demolition, Progress Works, Hall Lane, Bradford.
	Waste Transfer Station.
	The nearest residential property is within 100 metres of the site.
	The maximum quantity of bonded asbestos that can be stored on site is limited to the contents of a single lockable skip.
	Bradmet Asbestos Unit, Shearbridge Depot, Bradford, BD1.
	Waste Transfer Station.
	The nearest residential property is within 100 metres of the site.
	The maximum quantity of bonded asbestos that can be stored on site is 42 cubic metres.
	Yorwaste Ltd, Skibeden Landfill, Harrogate Road, Skipton.
	Landfill Site.
	There is one residential property within 50 metres of the site.
	The site is allowed to dispose of up to 20 tonnes of bonded asbestos in any one day and up to 600 tonnes in any one year. Calderdale
	T H Holroyd, Phoebe Mills, Siddal, Halifax.
	Waste Transfer Station.
	The nearest residential property is 100 metres from the site.
	The maximum quantity of bonded asbestos that can be stored on site is 640 tonnes.
	P Casey Enviro Ltd, Former Atlas Works, South Lane, Blackley, Elland.
	Landfill Site.
	The nearest residential property is within 50 metres of the site boundary.
	The site is permitted to accept up to 5,000 tonnes of bonded asbestos in a year although, in reality, the site does not currently accept this waste.
	Kirklees
	Demex Limited, Thornhill Quarry, Ravensthorpe Rd, Ravensthorpe, Dewsbury.
	Landfill Site.
	The nearest residential properties are within 50250 metres of the site boundary.
	The site is permitted to accept up to 25,000 tonnes in a year.
	SITA UK Limited, Hollins Hey, Blackley, Elland.
	Landfill Site.
	The nearest residential property is more than 500 metres from the site boundary.
	The site is permitted to accept up 100 tonnes of asbestos in a day and up to 75,000 tonnes in a year.
	Kirklees Building Services, Coombs Depot, Thornhill, Dewsbury.
	Waste Transfer Station.
	The nearest residential property is within 50 metres of the site.
	The site is permitted to hold up to 30 tonnes at any one time.
	SITA UK Limited, Hollins Hey, Blackley, Elland.
	Landfill Site.
	The nearest residential property is more than 500 metres from the site boundary.
	The site is permitted to accept up 100 tonnes of asbestos in a day and up to 75,000 tonnes in a year.
	C  J Blackburns, Westgate Mills, Watergate Road, Dewsbury.
	Waste Transfer Station.
	The nearest residential properties are within 50250 metres of the site.
	The site is permitted to hold up to 200 tonnes at any one time.
	Readymix Huddersfield Limited, Off Leeds Road, Huddersfield.
	Waste Transfer Station.
	The nearest residential properties are within 50250 metres of the site.
	The site is permitted to hold up to 30 cubic metres at any one time.
	Wakefield
	Biffa Waste Services, Calder Vale Road, Wakefield.
	Waste Transfer and Chemical Treatment Site.
	The nearest residential property is approximately 300 metres from the site.
	The site is permitted to accept Fibrous Asbestos in laboratory quantities (5kg) and unspecified quantities of non-fibrous asbestos although in reality the site does not accept such wastes.
	Welbeck Landfill Site, Off Boundary Road, Normanton, Wakefield.
	Landfill Site.
	The nearest residential property is approximately 300 metres from the site boundary.
	The site is permitted to accept up 200 tonnes of resin or cement bonded white asbestos in a day.
	Grace Brothers, 911 Baghill Lane, Pontefract, WF8 2HA.
	Waste Transfer Station.
	The nearest residential property is 100 metres from the site.
	The site is licensed to hold up to 10 tonnes of bonded white asbestos at any one time.
	Wakefield MBC, Denbydale Road, Wakefield.
	EAWML65091.
	The nearest residential property is approximately 500 metres away
	The site is licensed to hold up to 10 tonnes of bonded white asbestos at any one time.

Asbestos

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs under what conditions bonded asbestos may be held at licensed waste disposal sites; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: There is no standard condition for holding asbestos as each application is assessed on a risk basis. I am placing in the House Library a copy of the Environment Agency's Regulatory Guidance Note (RON 11) and an extract from the shell licence for Civic Amenity sites which show what action is to be taken.

Brownfield Sites

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will investigate (a) the time taken by the Environment Agency to approve remedial strategies for the clean-up of brownfield sites and (b) the effect of delays upon the use of brownfield sites in preference to greenbelt land; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 16 June 2003
	The Environment Agency has a formal role in relation to land determined as contaminated land and designated as a special site, under the provisions of Part 2A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. In such cases, it may agree a remediation statement which sets out work which has been, is being, or will be carried out on particular land by the person responsible. This provides an alternative to the service of a remediation notice. Part 2A is designed to support Government policy on urban regeneration, both by encouraging voluntary action to deal with contamination, and by providing a framework for taking the necessary decisions about remediation. The Agency has no formal role outside this regime in approving proposals for dealing with land affected by contamination, other than when consulted in relation to planning applications on such land. It provides advice on a non-statutory basis in other cases, as resources allow. English Partnerships is currently developing a Brownfield Strategy for the Government, which is likely to address obstacles to brownfield regeneration, including contamination and regulatory issues, and the Environment Agency is actively assisting in its preparation.

Clinical Waste

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the weight of (a) tampons, (b) sanitary towels, (c) panty liners, (d) light use continence pads, (e) heavy use continence pads and (f) condoms disposed of by (i) entering into the sewerage system, (ii) landfill, (iii) incineration and (iv) other means in the last year for which figures are available.

Elliot Morley: Data is not collected in the format requested.

Commission on Radioactive Waste Management

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  who the (a) Chairman and (b) members are of the Commission on Radioactive Waste Management; and when it will start work;
	(2)  when the Commission on Radioactive Waste Management will undertake a review of the options for the long-term management of radioactive waste to provide recommendations to Government on the best approach; what organisations and communities they will consult; and what the anticipated date is for the completion of this review;
	(3)  what the terms of reference are of the Commission on Radioactive Waste Management: and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 3 June 2003
	The deadline for applications for the Chair and Members of the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management was 2 May, and appointments will be made by the Secretary of State and her colleagues in the devolved Administrations later this year. We shall make an announcement about the Committee and its work at that stage.
	It will be up to the Committee, once they have been appointed, to decide their work programme including their proposals for public and stakeholder engagement. This must be agreed by Ministers. We shall be asking CoRWM to deliver its final recommendations by around the end of 2006.
	I have arranged for a copy of the terms of reference, which we published in March, to be placed in the Library. These explain the work for which the Committee will be responsible.

Contaminated Land

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what financial support she has given to (a) local authorities and (b) the Environment Agency to meet capital costs of site investigation and associated clean up of contaminated land in each year since 1997.

Elliot Morley: The information requested is as follows.
	
		 million
		
			 England 199798 199899 19992000 200001 200102 200203 
		
		
			  Support given 
			 to LAs 13.7 11.2 10.4 11.3 9.9 (14) 
			 to EA 0.5 1.3 1.4 0.9 1.2 1.5 
		
	
	(14) Not yet available

Contaminated Land

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many sites of contaminated land have been (a) investigated and (b) cleaned up under the auspices of (i) local authorities and (ii) the Environment Agency in each year since 1997.

Elliot Morley: Informatation is provided in the following tables. Table A shows data collected in respect of regulatory activity under Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (contaminated land) which came into force in England on 1 April 2000. Table B shows the numbers of projects for which my Department has offered or provided capital support in each financial year from 199798.
	
		Table APart IIA regulatory activity(15)
		
			  LA determinations(16) Special sites(17) Remediation statements(18) Special site inspections(19) 
		
		
			 200102 33 0 8 31 
			 200203 21 14 15 30 
			 200304 4 0 1 2 
		
	
	(15) investigation and remediation of land affected by contamination also takes place as part of redevelopment and regeneration, outside Part IIA
	(16) sites determined as contaminated land under Part IIA, following detailed investigation
	(17)contaminated land for which the Environment Agency, not the LA, is the enforcing authority
	(18)contaminated land for which appropriate remediation has been formally secured by the LA or the Agency under Part IIA, without a remediation notice
	(19) cases where the Environment Agency has agreed to inspect on behalf of the LA, with a view to possible determination of the site as contaminated land and designation as a special site
	
		Table BNumber of LA and EA projects attracting capital support(20)
		
			  199798 199899 19992000 200001 200102 200203 
		
		
			 LA investigations 72 84 73 76 38 92 
			 LA remediation 106 92 94 86 87 57 
			 EA investigations 10 16 12 13 10 20 
			 EA remediation 0 3 3 4 6 6 
		
	
	(20) Projects may relate to the same site, or more than one site. Some projects may appear in more than one year. Figures are for successful bids.

Energy Efficiency

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment has been made by her Department of the cost and potential savings at different initial levels of energy efficiency of property of the Home Energy Efficiency Scheme; what assessment has been made by her Department of the cost effectiveness of the Home Energy Efficiency Scheme in reducing fuel poverty amongst owner-occupiers and private sector tenants; what (a) assessment she has made, (b) discussions she has had or plans to have and (c) representations she has received in relation to the research conducted by the Institute of Fiscal Studies on the cost-effectiveness of the Home Energy Efficiency Scheme; and what assessment (i) has been made and (ii) is planned of the effects of the Home Energy Efficiency Scheme on reducing fuel poverty (A) to date and (B) under the fuel poverty strategy.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 14 April 2003
	The Home Energy Efficiency Scheme (HEES) is now marketed as The Warm Front Team, and is the Government's main programme for tackling fuel poverty in the private sector in England. The Scheme was launched in June 2000. Warm Front provides insulation and heating measures depending upon the needs of the householder and the property type.
	You ask what assessments we have made of the Warm Front and its impact on reducing fuel poverty. Warm Front has now been in existence for over two and a half years and we are currently carrying out a review to look what it has delivered, the issues faced, solutions found, examples of best practice and future priorities. This review has included discussions with key stakeholders to assess progress and to help the debate on progress to achieving our overall goal of an end to fuel poverty.
	Our Warm Front review is looking at the scope and targeting of the scheme, the measures offeredincluding their cost effectivenessand practical issues surrounding delivery. The review is also looking at issues around SAP improvements to properties under the scheme. Overall, we are looking both to identify the impact on properties once measures have been installed and potential savings for householders.
	We are also funding a piece of research to look specifically at the adverse health impact that can be impacted by fuel poverty, and the effect of assistance under Warm Front. The study was launched during 2002 with investigations being run over two winters. The findings of both these pieces of work will be published once completed.
	The Department is aware of the report undertaken by the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IPS), although we have received no representations on it. The report highlights a number of interesting issues surrounding the targeting and impact of Warm Front and is a helpful contribution to the debate.
	Government's first annual report on progress since the launch of the UK Fuel Poverty Strategy was published on 4 March. This provides an update on the number of households in fuel poverty, taking account of initial findings from the English House Condition Survey 2001. It also provides an update on programmes undertaken to help alleviate fuel poverty.

Foot and Mouth

David Maclean: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what compensation or other payments were made by her Department on behalf of the Crown to (a) Chinese businesses and (b) the Chinese community in the north-east following the accusations that Chinese restaurants were responsible for foot and mouth.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 16 June 2003
	I am not aware that any such payment was made by or on behalf of this Department.

Forests

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the Government will respond to the sixth report of the Environmental Audit Committee, Session 200102, Buying Time for Forests; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: The Government's response to the Committee's report is not yet ready but I expect it to be made before Parliament's summer recess. I regret that a response has been delayed for so long, and apologise for that to the Committee and will write briefly to give an explanation.

Genetic Modification

Ian Cawsey: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the Government policy on (a) licensing the commercial production of GM crops, (b) the importation of GM foods and farm crops and (c) the patenting of genetic resources for food and farming.

Elliot Morley: The licensing of the commercial cultivation of GM crops in, and import of GM crops into, the EU is subject to EU Directive 2001/18/EC, which establishes the framework by which collective EU decisions are made on whether or not to authorise individual GMOs for use on the single market. The import of GM foods and GM food ingredients is subject to EU Regulation 258/97. The UK and all other EU member states are fully signed up to this EU legislation, and our policy is to act in accordance with its requirements.
	Our policy with respect to the applications to market GMOs currently under consideration is set out in the statement issued by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State on 24 March 2003. A copy is in the Library and on the Defra website.
	Patenting of genetic resources is the responsibility of the Patent Office but I understand that patents are available in Europe for inventions relating to genetic resources, according to the provisions of EC Directive 98/44 which has been enacted into UK law. Such inventions have to meet the usual patentability requirements including novelty, inventive step and industrial applicability. Plant varieties are specifically excluded by the Directive and are not afforded patents under UK patent legislation. In addition, pre-existing agricultural resources such as indigenous seeds cannot be the subject of patent rights.

Genetic Modification

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what efforts have been made to publicise the national debate on genetically modified organisms and GM foods; and on what television and radio programmes Ministers in her Department have appeared since 1 May 2003 to provide advanced information on the national GM debate.

Elliot Morley: GM Nation?the public debate on GM issuesis being run by an independent Steering Board. The announcement of the debate and appointment of the Board were well publicised in the media last July. All meetings of the Steering Board are held in public and the minutes of the meetings and other key documents are available on the debate website, which has kept the debate in the public eye throughout the year. The Steering Board is responsible for publicising the debate at arm's length from Government.
	The Steering Board announced their detailed plans for the debate through a press release issued on 13 May 2003. This was pro-actively sent to over 150 national, regional and specialist correspondents and received wide coverage. Professor Malcolm Grant, chair of the Steering Board, sent a letter to all local authorities and hundreds of other organisations at the same time, inviting them to get involved and host their own regional or local meetings. Professor Grant launched the debate on 3 June 2003 at a well-attended press conference, which attracted extensive media coverage. In addition, members of the Steering Board have given interviews to national and local media to help publicise the GM debate.
	Since 1 May 2003, Ministers have given interviews on aspects of the GM public debate to BBC Radio 4 Farming Today, the Today Programme, Radio 5 Live, BBC Breakfast Television News, BBC News 24 and Channel 4 News.

Genetic Modification

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the (a) location and (b) date of comment of genetically modified crop trials in Shrewsbury and Atcham since 1997.

Elliot Morley: Information is not held on a constituency basis, so the following tables list trials of GM crops carried out in Shropshire since 1997 under consents issued in accordance with Directive 90/220/EEC. Table 1 lists those under part B consents, and Table 2 national list trials under part C consent. Further information on the consents and the programmes of work they covered can be found on the UK public register of GMO releases and at the website http://defraweb/environment/gm/index.htm.
	Note:
	I have taken date of comment as mentioned in the question to mean date of consent.
	
		GM crop trials in Shropshire since 1997 -- Table 1 Part B releases
		
			 Consent referencenumber GM crop Date of consent Location(nearest village) Grid reference Year of trial 
		
		
			 96/R21/4 Sugar beet February 1997 Eyton SJ 653 146 1998 
			Eyton SJ 652 144 1999 
			 96/R22/8 Fodder beet March 1997 Telford SJ 653 146(21) 1998 
			Lilleshall SJ 717 167(21) 1997 
			Eyton SJ 650 144 1999 
			 97/R19/13 Sugar beet March 1997 Eyton SJ 653 146(21) 1998 
			Eyton SJ 652 144 1999 
			Eyton SJ 65 13 2000 
			 99/R22/16 Sugar beet March 2000 Beckbury SJ 770 018(22) 2000 
			 99/R22/17 Fodder beet March 2000 Ash Parva SJ 572 384(22) 2000 
			Ellerdine SJ 603 215(22) 2001 
			 99/R21/6 Sugar beet May 2000 Eyton SJ 652 137(21) 2000 
			 00/R13/10 Sugar beet April 2000 Eyton SJ 652 137 2000 
			 00/R33/7 Winter rape August 2000 Hinstock SJ 685 259(22) 2001 
			 00/R33/9 Spring rape February 2001 Ash Magna SJ 573 384(22) 2001 
			Bagley SJ 410 266(22) 2001 
			Ellerdine SJ 603 213(22) 2001 
			Hinstock SJ 683 255(22) 2002 
			Bagley SJ 399 262(22) 2002 
			Horton/Newtown SJ 505 313(22) 2002 
			 01/R33/11 Winter rape July 2001 Bagley SJ 398 275(22) 2001 
			Bagley SJ 398 268(22) 2002 
		
	
	(21) National List Trial Site
	(22) These sites were part of the Farm Scale Evaluation Programme.
	
		GM crop trials in Shropshire since 1997 -- Table 2 national list trials of GM maizeT25
		
			 Consent reference number Date of consent Location (Parish) 
		
		
			 C/F/95/12/07 August 1998 Eyton 
			   Ercall Magna

Genetic Modification

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what timetable has been set for (a) the economic review of GM crops, (b) the GM public debate and (c) the GM science debate to (i) begin, (ii) end and (iii) be reported on.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 20 May 2003
	The study into the overall costs and benefits associated with GM crops conducted by the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit and the GM Science Review were announced on 31 May 2002, and work started immediately. They will submit their reports to Government at the end of June 2003.
	The GM public debate was announced on 26 July 2002 and the first meeting of the independent Steering Board, which is managing the debate, was on 13 September 2002. Initial desk research and foundation discussion workshops were conducted in the autumn. The main phase of deliberative debate, 'GM Nation', was launched on 3 June and will continue through to mid-July 2003. The Steering Board will submit their report to Government in September 2003.

Genetic Modification

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will explain the mechanisms whereby local communities can discuss the Government's approach to genetically modified organisms; and what timetable they should adhere to if they wish to make a final contribution to the consultations.

Elliot Morley: The Public Debate Steering Board, which is managing 'GM Nation? The Public Debate' at arm's length from Government, is encouraging local communities to participate in the debate. Organisations and individuals can be provided with copies of a debate toolkit in order to facilitate their own debates locally. The toolkit comprises a video, CD-ROM, booklet and feedback questionnaire, and is available from COI Communications, who have been appointed by the Steering Board to run the debate. COI can be contacted on 020 7261 8616 or through the public debate website at: www.gmnation.org.uk The completed feedback forms and any other output from their discussions should be returned by 18 July 2003 in order for the comments to contribute to the final report from the Steering Board.

Genetic Modification

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations she has had regarding the licensing of GM crops from (a) other EU member states, (b) the United States of America and (c) other nations.

Elliot Morley: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State regularly discusses issues raised by GM crops, including licensing, with her counterparts from other EU member states, the United States and other nations. However, details of these exchanges are not recorded centrally.

Genetic Modification

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what weight will be given to (a) the GM public debate, (b) the economic review and (c) the scientific review in making decisions on the future licensing of GM crops.

Elliot Morley: Decisions on the future licensing of GM crops are taken collectively by member states at EU level, based on an objective assessment of the application's compliance with Directive 2001/18/EC. The reports from the GM public debate, the economic study into the overall costs and benefits associated with GM crops and the GM Science Review will help to inform Government's policy-making on GM, including their policy on the cultivation of GM crops.

Genetic Modification

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what property of the genetic modification of seed enables genetically-modified crops to give a higher yield than conventional crops; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: The yield of crops is dependent on a number of factors, but it is especially sensitive to the environment in which the crop is grown. In particular, the presence of pests and diseases (for example, weeds, damaging insects or fungal disease), or unfavourable conditions such as drought, limit the yield of most crops.
	The current generation of genetically modified (GM) crops are largely intended to increase yield by reducing the impact of pests. Herbicide-tolerant crops allow more effective weed control, whereas insect-resistant crops help reduce the impact of damaging insects. The extent to which these approaches improve yield depends on how important the pest concerned is in adversely affecting yield. For example, in Europe and North America damaging insects are generally controlled through the use of chemical insecticides, so insect-resistant crops do not show a large yield increase. There is, however, the potential for the reduction in chemical insecticide use, which may reduce costs and bring environmental and health benefits. In contrast, recent work has shown that insect-resistant crops may have a much greater impact on yield in developing world agricultural systems where there is lower use of chemical insecticide and there are significant losses to insect pests.
	In the future it may be possible to increase the efficiency with which plants capture energy from sunlight, either through GM or by conventional plant breeding. This would be expected to improve yield independently of control of pests or other environmental impacts.

Genetic Modification

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what liability provisions are in place to protect those who might suffer harm as a consequence of future GM releases.

Elliot Morley: Under European and UK law, all releases of genetically modified organisms require prior authorisation. This is only given once the relevant authorities are satisfied that the application complies with the terms of the legislation and that all appropriate measures are being taken to avoid adverse effects on human health and the environment. There are specific provisions in Part VI of the Environmental Protection Act giving powers to the courts and the Secretary of State to remedy harm where the commission of an offence has caused harm. Otherwise currently there are no specific liability provisions in relation to GM releases. Depending on the circumstances, a claim for redress, however, could be made through the courts under existing general legal principles.
	The independent Agriculture and Environment Biotechnology Commission is preparing a report to Government on GM crop liability. Among other things, this is likely to include an examination of how existing general legal principles might operate here. We will consider this issue further in the light of that report.

Genetic Modification

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the decisions relating to (a) the commercialisation of GM crops and (b) the future licensing of GM releases will be fully devolved to the competent authorities in (i) Wales, (ii) Scotland and (iii) Northern Ireland.

Elliot Morley: Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have fully devolved competent authority responsibilities under EU Directive 2001/18/EC, which controls the deliberate release and marketing of GMOs in the EU, including the commercialisation of GM crops.
	Under this legislation, the Devolved Administrations have full competence to take decisions on proposed releases of GMOs for non-commercial purposes in their respective territories in accordance with Part B of Directive 2001/18.
	In the case of commercial releases of GM products under Part C of Directive 2001/18, which provides access to the whole EU single market, the Devolved Administrations have similar competence under national legislation to that of my Department. This includes powers to issue such consents in accordance with the requirements of the Directive. Decisions on Part C consents are, however, arrived at in consultation with other member states and the European Commission and are, if necessary, subject to qualified majority voting. The UK position on any particular application is agreed between my Department and the Devolved Administrations, with my Department representing the agreed UK position in EU discussions and procedures.

Genetic Modification

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what overall budget has been set for the public consultation and debate on GMOs; and how much has been budgeted for (a) the debate website, (b) advertising the public meetings and (c) other costs related to holding the public meetings.

Elliot Morley: Government are providing 500,000 to fund the public debate on GM issues. This includes contributions from the Devolved Administrations.
	(a) A total of 42,435 has been budgeted for the public debate website (www.gmnation.org.uk)
	(b) The Public Debate Steering Board decided to allocate their resources to the content of the debate and the associated regional events rather than on publicity. The dates and times of the public meetings were publicised on the website, in the press releases of 13 May and 3 June 2003 and at the launch of the debate on 3 June 2003, and the debate has received extensive media coverage.
	(c) Approximately 100,000 was budgeted to hold the six public regional launch events, and to provide facilitation for the other large scale meetings organised more locally.

Genetic Modification

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how she intends to incorporate the views of the United Kingdom public gathered during the GM public debate and contained in the final GM debate report to inform the Government's opinion on the 19 Part C marketing consent applications received by various member states of the EU.

Elliot Morley: The public debate, which is being managed by an independent Steering Board, will help to inform the Government's policy-making on GM, including its policy on the cultivation of GM crops. Final decisions on any of the current 19 applications notified under EC Directive 2001/18 are unlikely to be taken at EU level until the end of the year, by which time we will have the report of the public debate. The Directive also requires that the public be given an opportunity to comment on each application.

Genetic Modification

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in what ways the GM Public Meeting in Birmingham was advertised; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: GM Nation?the public debate on GM issuesis being run by an independent Steering Board at arm's length from Government. The Steering Board is responsible for publicising the debate.
	The Steering Board announced their detailed plans for the debate through a news release issued on 13 May 2003, which included the date of the first meeting on 3 June 2003 in Birmingham and details of how to obtain further information and register interest in attending. This was sent to over 150 national, regional and specialist correspondents. Letters were also sent to all local authorities and hundreds of other organisations, detailing the events and inviting them to get involved and host their own regional or local meetings. Members of the Steering Board gave interviews to national and local media to help publicise the GM debate programme and details about all the regional meetings, including the one in Birmingham, were widely reported.
	Information about the meetings was advertised on the GM debate website, which is linked to many other Government and interest group websites. Other organisations also issued press releases or website items advertising the events, including the one in Birmingham. For example, Friends of the Earth issued a press release on 19 May 2003, which included details about the event in Birmingham.

Ingram Works, Leeds

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many breach of condition notices the Environment Agency has served on the waste disposal and landfill site operated by Harry Sanders Ltd at Ingram Works in Leeds in each year since the Environment Agency was established.

Elliot Morley: The Environment Agency has served no such notices on the site operated by Harry Sanders Ltd.

Ingram Works, Leeds

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the distance is between the waste disposal and landfill site operated by Harry Sanders Ltd. at Ingram Works in Leeds and the closest domestic property.

Elliot Morley: The boundary of the waste transfer station referred to in this question is 60 metres from the nearest residential property (the actual waste transfer station building is 110 metres from the nearest residential property).
	It is unclear from the question whether the landfill referred to is that covered by Waste Management Licence 113, as issued to Mr. P. H. Sanders, or the adjacent registered Paragraph 19 exemption site. In the former case, the distance to the nearest residential property is 60 metres. In the latter case, the distance to the nearest residential property is 25 metres.

Ingram Works, Leeds

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the operator pollution risk appraisal score of the waste disposal and landfill site operated by Harry Sanders Ltd at Ingram Works in Leeds was in each year since 1990; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: OPRA scoring has been introduced relatively recently and so data is only available from 1999 until the present day.
	The OPRA score for any one year is an aggregate of the site score (calculated with respect to the relative sensitivity of the site location and the nature of the waste handling activity being conducted at the site) plus the number of scores allocated to the operator throughout the year for recorded non-compliance with licence conditions.
	The waste transfer station has a site score of 37. One addition five in 2002. To date, one additional point has been scored for non-compliance in 2003.
	The landfill referred to (Waste Management Licence 113, as issued to Mr. P. H. Sanders) has a site score of 18. Nine additional points were added for non-compliance in 1999, one in 2000, one in 2001, and none in 2002. To date, no scores have been allocated for non-compliance in 2003.

Ink and Toner Cartridges

Paul Truswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what benefits she has identified for (a) the environment and (b) employment and business arising from the recycling of ink and toner cartridges;
	(2)  what representations she has received regarding the future recycling of ink and toner cartridges; and what steps she is taking to ensure continuation of this practice.

Elliot Morley: The UK imports 10 million toner and 30 million inkjet cartridges each year, which produce about 20,000 tonnes of waste at the end of their life. The industry estimate that, at present, some 30 per cent. to 40 per cent. equivalent to 68,000 tonnes, of these are collected and reused or recycled. Businesses and individuals purchasing refurbished toner cartridges, rather than paying original product prices, save a total of more than 200 million per year.
	According to the industry, in the UK there are over 100 companies that remanufacture ink and toner cartridges for reuse, employing over 2,000 people. These are supported by over 20 component manufacturers and suppliers. Altogether, the industry has a turnover of over 150 million per annum.
	I understand that the industry is concerned that original equipment manufacturers are using anti-recycling devices in order to make the refurbishment of printer cartridges more difficult. The whole issue of eco-design will be addressed in the context of two upcoming initiatives from the European Commission, the forthcoming proposal for a framework directive on the Eco-design of Energy-Using Products (EuP) and a Communication on Integrated Product Policy (IPP).

Landfill

Robert Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list waste sites, with their addresses, which have submitted hazardous waste landfill conditioning plans to the Environment Agency.

Elliot Morley: A list of all those landfill operators who have submitted a conditioning plan to the Environment Agency for hazardous waste sites, broken down by region and including addresses of the sites, has been published on the Agency website at: www.environment-agency.gov.uk

Landfill

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  if she will list the landfill sites that have expressed an interest in receiving (a) hazardous and (b) non-hazardous waste in the last two years; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what estimate she has made of the number of landfill sites receiving hazardous waste that will be in operation when the Landfill Directive comes into operation;
	(3)  if she will list landfill sites in England.

Elliot Morley: The Landfill Directive was agreed by the Council of Ministers in April 1999 and came into force in July 2001. The main requirements of the Directive were implemented in England and Wales by the Landfill (England and Wales) Regulations 2002.
	The number of landfills, taken from the Environment Agency's July 2002 conditioning plan exercisecovering England and Wales, is as follows:
	
		
			 Region Non-hazardous Inert Hazardous (post 2002) Hazardous (post 2004) 
		
		
			 Anglian 43 60 47 9 
			 Midlands 50 74 42 4 
			 North East 89 58 39 11 
			 North West 49 37 27 8 
			 South West 39 46 16 1 
			 Southern 30 35 13 1 
			 Thames 31 49 19 0 
			 Wales 23 30 15 3 
			 Total 311 329 218 37 
		
	
	Details on these landfill sites are available on the Environment Agency website (www.Environment-Agency.gov.uk).

Landfill

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether money received by environmental organisations from the Rump Fund, designed to ease the transition between the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme and any successor scheme, will be classified as public or private finance when used to bid for further funding from other sources.

Elliot Morley: As indicated in the Economic Secretary to the Treasury's written statement to Parliament on 3 February 2003, the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme (LTCS) Legacy Fund is a public expenditure scheme funded by Defra. Its aim is to replace LTCS funding for eligible projects for 200304 which had been agreed prior to the announcement in November 2002 that the LTCS would be reformed. It should have no affect, therefore, on funding packages put together for those projects.

Landfill

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 2 April 2003, Official Report, column 76566W, 
	(1)  by whom administrative support is being provided for this panel; and how much has been budgeted for this support;
	(2)  what the different elements in society represented by the panel are;
	(3)  whether members of the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme Sustainable Waste Management Legacy Fund Independent Assessment Panel are paid from her Department's budget; how much has been provided for this expense; and whether the 350 honorarium is on a per diem basis per panel member.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 13 May 2003
	Administrative support for the independent panel assessing applications under the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme Sustainable Waste Management Legacy Fund is being provided by ENTRUST. The cost of this service is included in the fee that ENTRUST receives to administer the fund which comprises 2 per cent. of whatever funds are distributed.
	The three panel members are representative of women, ethnic minorities, charted institutes, academia, industry and the self employed.
	The one off honorarium paid to each panel member will be a minute fraction of the total budget (54 million) set aside by Defra to meet the cost of the scheme. The honorarium that each panel member is to receive has been increased to 1,000 to take account of the additional time taken by panel members to ensure that the decisions taken on the eligibility of applications are fair and reasonable.

Landfill

Bill O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make it her policy to find a mechanism for distributing funds formerly flowing through the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme categories C and CC that will classify them as private rather than public sector in order to allow leverage of further funding from other sources.

Elliot Morley: The new public expenditure programme on sustainable waste management, which is being funded from the cessation of categories C and CC of the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme, will be used in England to support action to help households reduce the amount of waste they produce, increase access to doorstep collection of materials for recycling, promote the development of new and viable waste management technologies and provide local authorities with the support they need to deliver best practice.
	Details of the delivery programme including the type of financial assistance being provided for these activities will be announced next month. While we expect some parts of the programme to draw in funding from other sources, this will not be appropriate for all activities.
	The aim of the new programme is, however, to provide highly targeted and thus effective funding to improve performance on sustainable waste management.

Organic Farming

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many grants have been given to support organic farming in the UK in each of the last three years, broken down by (a) county and (b) the purpose for which the grant was given.

Elliot Morley: The table sets out by county in the years concerned the number of agreements with farmers in England in respect of aid under the Organic Farming Scheme to support conversion to organic farming. Aid paid elsewhere in the UK to support organic farming is the responsibility of the devolved Administrations and the Northern Ireland Department.
	On 5 June 2003, I launched a modified Organic Farming Scheme which offers support to existing organic farmers, in order to encourage the continued management of organic land in an environmentally beneficial way, as well as supporting conversion to organic farming.
	
		
			 County 2000 2001 2002 Total 
		
		
			 Avon 29 45 49 123 
			 Bedfordshire 3 7 8 18 
			 Berkshire 8 13 15 36 
			 Buckinghamshire 13 21 26 60 
			 Cambridgeshire 12 23 26 61 
			 Cheshire 31 61 69 161 
			 Cleveland  2 2 4 
			 Cornwall 76 118 128 322 
			 Cumbria 27 45 52 124 
			 Derbyshire 27 45 47 119 
			 Devonshire 221 329 364 914 
			 Dorset 67 113 124 304 
			 Durham 5 9 9 23 
			 East Sussex 34 64 71 169 
			 Essex 14 24 28 66 
			 Gloucestershire 56 102 115 273 
			 Greater London  1 1 2 
			 Greater Manchester 1 2 3 6 
			 Hampshire 18 37 46 101 
			 Hereford and Worcestershire 79 121 138 338 
			 Hertfordshire 7 8 10 25 
			 Humberside 10 18 22 50 
			 Isle of Wight 2 3 3 8 
			 Kent 33 59 63 155 
			 Lancashire 22 27 30 79 
			 Leicestershire 20 33 35 88 
			 Lincolnshire 41 66 75 182 
			 Merseyside 5 7 8 20 
			 Norfolk 29 50 60 139 
			 North Yorkshire 47 81 86 214 
			 Northamptonshire 10 14 16 40 
			 Northumberland 20 33 45 98 
			 Nottinghamshire 10 15 16 41 
			 Oxfordshire 25 35 43 103 
			 Shropshire 39 67 79 185 
			 Somerset 61 105 120 286 
			 South Yorkshire 6 6 8 20 
			 Staffordshire 27 49 54 130 
			 Suffolk 25 40 45 110 
			 Surrey 6 11 14 31 
			 Tyne and Wear   1 1 
			 Warwickshire 15 22 25 62 
			 West Midlands 3 3 3 9 
			 West Sussex 16 35 40 91 
			 West Yorkshire 14 18 19 51 
			 Wiltshire 70 126 143 339 
			 Grand Total 1,284 2,113 2,384 5,781

OSPAR Commission

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what action she will take to ensure that the UK Strategy for Radioactive Discharges meets the commitments signed up to at the OSPAR Commission in July 1998.

Elliot Morley: The Government are satisfied that the OSPAR Commission is on target to achieve the reductions in radioactive discharges agreed in 1998. The UK Strategy describes the UK's contribution to achieving that target.

Ozone Depletion

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether it is her policy under the terms of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, that developed countries' production allowance for chlorofluorocarbons for export to meet the basic domestic needs of developing countries should be further reduced below the percentages allowed in the Beijing Adjustment to the Protocol; and whether the UK will raise this issue as one to be advanced by the EC in this year's meeting of the parties to the Protocol.

Elliot Morley: Further to the answer given on 1 April 2003, Official Report, column 646W, I can report to the hon. Member that there have been further discussions on this issue between member states and the Commission. The UK is not persuaded that there is at present sufficient justification to propose amending the current reduction schedule under the Montreal Protocol. However we are keeping this situation under review in consultation with stakeholders.

Packaging

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many prosecutions of companies there have been for failing to register under the terms of the packaging recovery note provisions for each month since January 1999.

Elliot Morley: Figures for prosecution of companies since January 1999 are as follows:
	
		
			  Prosecutions 
		
		
			 1999  
			 January 0 
			 February 0 
			 March 0 
			 April 0 
			 May 1 
			 June 1 
			 July 0 
			 August 0 
			 September 1 
			 October 2 
			 November 1 
			 December 0 
			 Total 6 
			   
			 2000  
			 January 0 
			 February 4 
			 March 1 
			 April 2 
			 May 3 
			 June 2 
			 July 5 
			 August 3 
			 September 3 
			 October 2 
			 November 4 
			 December 2 
			 Total 31 
			   
			 2001  
			 January 3 
			 February 1 
			 March 3 
			 April 2 
			 May 3 
			 June 4 
			 July 5 
			 August 3 
			 September 8 
			 October 5 
			 November 5 
			 December 7 
			 Total 49 
			   
			 2002  
			 January 1 
			 February 4 
			 March 5 
			 April 5 
			 May 6 
			 June 4 
			 July 8 
			 August 3 
			 September 6 
			 October 8 
			 November 5 
			 December 2 
			 Total 57 
			   
			 2003  
			 January 0 
			 February 3 
			 March 0 
			 April 0 
			 May 0 
			 June 0 
			 July  
			 August  
			 September  
			 October  
			 November  
			 December  
			 Total 3 
		
	
	All prosecutions have been undertaken by the Environment Agency of England and Wales with the exception of one in February 2003 that was carried out by Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA). The Environmental Heritage Service (EHS) of Northern Ireland have no recorded prosecutions.

Packaging

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many companies have registered under the terms of the packaging recovery note provisions in each month since January 1999.

Elliot Morley: Figures for companies who have registered under the terms of the packaging recovery provisions are not available by month. Under the packaging Regulations, the deadline for registration is 7 April each year.
	However, numbers of companies registered each year since January 1999 are as follows:
	19994,250
	20005,771
	20016,060
	20026,268
	20036,222 (provisional figure)

Pitsea Tip

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what reports the Environment Agency used as the basis for their legal notice to the operators of Pitsea Tip under section 42 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990; and if she will publish those reports.

Elliot Morley: Site inspection reports are produced at each routine site inspection. These identify compliance with conditions of the Waste Management Licence. They also highlight breaches of conditions with instructions/guidance on rectifying the relevant matters. Where these are not rectified within suitable timescales, or are more serious/complex breaches, a Notice can be served under section 42 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 requiring compliance with conditions.
	The site inspection reports are on the public register, which the Environment Agency holds.

Pitsea Tip

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what monitoring procedures have been undertaken by the Environment Agency in respect of Pitsea Tip; and what results have been achieved.

Elliot Morley: The site has a Waste Management Licence (WML). The WML has conditions requiring the operator, Cleanaway Ltd., to conduct monitoring of groundwater, surface water, leachate and landfill gas. This is done at prescribed frequencies in prescribed locations in and around the site.
	The Environment Agency receives the analytical data and assesses it. The agency also conducts its own audit monitoring of the site to verify the data supplied by the operator. This data is on the public register which the Environment Agency holds.
	Ambient air quality is not required by the licence and is not routinely carried out by the agency. Spot samples of odorous air were recently taken from the landfill site and analysed; health experts have confirmed that the results indicate the presence of constituents at levels which would not cause harm to human health. Further comprehensive air monitoring is presently being conducted by an independent consultant and a report is expected to be produced in the next week.

Private Finance Initiative (Waste Projects)

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the allocation of PFI credits for waste projects which has occurred, indicating in each case how much is intended for incineration related purposes.

Elliot Morley: The following table sets out the amount of PFI credits that have been allocated to local authority waste projects. The list includes cases that have been approved on the basis of final business caseswhere preferred bidders have been selected and contracts have been signed. It also includes proposals that have been agreed at outline business case stage where a preferred bidder may not have been selected.
	We do not hold centrally a breakdown of credit allocations between incineration and non-incineration elements. However, some indication is available from the volumes of waste that are dealt with by the proposal and the new incineration capacity that was assumed in the approval. These figures are shown in the table.
	A proposal may be varied in the light of the market response following outline business case approval, in negotiations with preferred bidders and/or in the light of local planning decisions which may be made after contract signature. The Department is aware that at least one of the earlier approvals is likely to change significantly and in a way that reduces new incineration capacity, but we have yet to see revised proposals from the relevant local authority.
	
		
			 Authority Financial yearproject signed Approvalstage PFI credit allocation ( million) Total municipal waste dealt with (Tonnes per annum) Incineration capacity included in project (Tonnes per annum) 
		
		
			 Isle of Wight(23) 199798 FBC 13 37,000 0 
			 Herefordshire and Worcestershire(24) 199899 FBC 57 347,000 94,000 
			 Kirklees(25) 199899 FBC 33.9 233,500 123,000 
			 Surrey(26) 19992000 FBC 85.5 555,000 400,000 
			 South Gloucestershire(27) 200001 FBC 34.3 185,000 55,000 
			 ELWA(28) 200203 FBC 47 530,000 0 
			 East Sussex, Brighton and Hove(28) 200203 FBC 49 445,000 225,000 
			 Leicester City(28) 200304 FBC 30.8 140,000 0 
			 Central Berkshire(29) n/a OBC 37 464,000 0 
			 West Sussex(30) n/a OBC 25 414,000 0 
			 Gloucestershire(29) n/a OBC 25.105 223,475 0 
		
	
	(23) Latest (2002) data
	(24) Final stage projections
	(25) Latest 200203 estimates
	(26) Incineration figures based on capacitynot necessarily all for municipal waste
	(27) Final stage projections based on contract end estimates
	(28) Final stage data
	(29) Outline stage data
	(30) Outline stage data. Civic Amenity Site solution

Radioactive Waste

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list landfill sites which are (a) unlined and (b) permitted to receive low-level radioactive waste.

Elliot Morley: There are a total of 280 operational landfill sites which are unlined. Details of these sites have been placed in the Library of the House. They are broken down on the basis of the type of waste which can be accepted at the sitehazardous and non hazardous waste and inert waste.
	The Environment Agency advises that disposal of low-level radioactive waste is authorised under the Radioactive Substances Act 1993 at the following unlined sites in England and Wales.
	
		
			 Landfill site Location Engineered containment status 
		
		
			 Cowpen Bewley Billingham, Cleveland No engineered containment (unlined), excavated in clay 
			 Hilts Quarry Crich, Derbyshire No engineered containment (unlined) 
			 Magnesium Elektron Swinton Swinton, Greater Manchester No engineered containment (unlined) 
			 Vickers Waste Ponds Walney Island, Cumbria No engineered containment (unlined) 
			 Braziers Landfill Hertfordshire No engineered containment (unlined)

Radioactive Waste ManagementAdvisory Committee

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans the Government has to replace the Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: Sponsoring Ministers are currently considering the future of the Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee (RWMAC) in light of the establishment of the new Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM), that is being set up to carry forward the Managing Radioactive Waste Safely programme, and will announce their decision in due course.

Recycling

Martin Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much waste was collected for recycling by each London borough in (a) 200102 and (b) 200203; and what percentage increase is required to meet the Government's target of 24 per cent. by 200506.

Elliot Morley: Data on the amount of household waste collected for recycling by each London Borough in 200102 are currently being updated by the GLA and can be obtained from the GLA managed waste website at: http://www.capitalwastefacts.com
	Data for 200203 are not yet available.
	Greater London had a household recycling rate of 9 per cent. in 200001. It is too soon to predict whether the London authorities will meet their 200506 targets, which are set out in the Guidance on Municipal Waste Management Strategies, which is available at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/waste/management/guidance/mwms/index.htm

Recycling

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to her answer of 28 February 2003, Official Report, column 7530, on waste management, if she will publish figures for the performance of local authorities against targets for waste recycling in 200102.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 12 May 2003
	Figures for the performance of local authorities in 200102 against their statutory targets for waste recycling are collected as part of the Best Value regime and are available on the ODPM website; www.bvpi.gov.uk. The data are too extensive to be published in Hansard

Recycling

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what estimate she has made of the additional expenditure needed to meet (a) the recycling targets and (b) the recovery targets of Waste Strategy 2000;
	(2)  what estimate she has made of the additional expenditure needed to comply with the requirements of Article 5 of the Landfill Directive to (a) reduce the amount of biodegradable municipal waste sent to landfill to 75 per cent. of 1995 levels by 2010, (b) reduce the amount of biodegradable municipal waste to 50 per cent. of 1995 levels by 2013 and (c) reduce the amount of biodegradable municipal waste to 35 per cent. of 1995 levels by 2020.

Elliot Morley: The costs involved in meeting the Article 5 Landfill Directive targets and other waste strategy targets were set out in the Regulatory Impact Assessment published with Waste Strategy 2000.
	A base case was established and various policy mixes were costed against that base case. The additional costs of the policy mixes that should deliver the levels of recycling, composting and recovery needed to meet the waste strategy targets fell in the range 3.4 billion 7.7 billion (net present value) over the 20 year period 200020.
	Waste Strategy 2000 stated that the proposed targets for the recovery and recycling of municipal waste may not impose net additional costs if it is assumed that a broad mix of waste management options will be required to meet the Landfill Directive targets; and that reliance on incineration and composting is unlikely to be viable.
	The Government already provide waste disposal authorities (WDAs) with significant resources in relation to their waste management which will enable them to carry out their waste related duties. For example, in the last two Spending Reviews the provision for Environmental, Protective and Cultural Services, including waste, have been increased by 1.8 billion for the period up 200506. Expenditure in the three financial years 200506 to 200708 will be dealt with in Spending Review 2004.
	Subsequent spending reviews will seek to deal with any additional burdens in future years. This is a sensible approach; when considering the costs of meeting the Landfill Directive targets, important considerations have to be taken into account; for example, the extent of the changes in comparative costs between landfill and alternative, more sustainable, disposal options.

Recycling

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of homes have a separate collection for recycling at least every two weeks of (a) glass, (b) paper, (c) metal food and drinks cans and foil, (d) plastics and (e) biodegradable waste; and what the average percentage is of these materials recycled by the homes that (i) have these collections, and (ii) those that do not.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 9 June 2003
	The figures relate to 200102 which is the most recent year for which we have full statistics:
	The percentage of households that receive a kerbside collection of the following recycleable materials are:
	(a) glass15 per cent.
	(b) paper44 per cent.
	(c) metal cans and foil20 per cent.
	(d) plastic8 per cent.
	(e) compost14 per cent.
	co-mingled 12 per cent.
	Co-mingled collections typically contain 25 materials and may or may not include those materials asked about above.
	The data to answer the second part of the question is not collected.

Recycling

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of homes in the UK have a collection of recyclable waste that is separated from their residual waste (a) at least once a week, (b) once every two weeks, (c) once every three weeks and (d) once every four weeks or less frequently; and what percentage of household waste is recycled from homes in each of the above categories.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 9 June 2003
	The figures relate to 200102 which is the most recent year for which we have full statistics:
	(a) weekly17 per cent.
	(b) once every two weeks39 per cent.
	(c) once every three weeks0 per cent.
	(d) once every four weeks or less frequently3 per cent.
	The recycling rates in each category are:
	(a) 12.5 per cent.
	(b) 10.7 per cent.
	(c) 
	(d) 6.7 per cent.
	The recycling rates data excludes recycling from collections at Civic Amenity sites.

Recycling

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the percentage of household waste recycled in each local authority in England in the year 200102, broken down by region.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 9 June 2003
	Figures for the performance of local authorities in 200102 against their statutory targets for waste recycling are collected as part of the Best Value regime and are available on the ODPM website: www.bvpi.gov.uk.

Satellites

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many research projects utilising satellites are (a) funded and (b) part funded by her Department, in each case giving (i) the title and aims of the work being undertaken, (ii) to whom this funding has been provided, (iii) the amount of funding which has and will be provided and (iv) when results have been published or are expected.

Elliot Morley: A table showing the current research projects funded or part funded by the Department using satellite derived data or technology has been placed in the Library of the House. Many other research projects use satellite GPS particularly those using the research vessels at CEFAS. There are non RD uses for satellite technology especially the Sea Fisheries Inspectorate work and WaveNet.
	In addition to these external contracts the Rural Development Service, Geographic Information Unit provides in-house remote sensing advice and analysis. It has been involved in a number of external remote sensing projects including a project with the EC Joint Research Centre monitoring agri-environment features.

Sustainable Development

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans the Government has to follow up issues arising from the Eleventh Meeting of the Commission for Sustainable Development.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 13 June 2003
	The eleventh session of the Commission for Sustainable Development (CSD)agreed a reform package and new work programme which focus on results and actions rather than textual negotiations. The outcome holds some promise that CSD will be able to fulfil its task of monitoring progress in the implementation of the outcomes of the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development and taking policy decisions to address constraints and obstacles.
	The UK is following up WSSD commitments in a number of ways, including through incorporating them into the Government's delivery planning system and taking them into account in the review of the sustainable development strategy for the UK, A better quality of life. I refer the hon. Member to the Government's Memorandum on WSSD follow-up presented to the Environmental Audit Committee in February and which is deposited in the House Library. The UK will report to CSD on our progress and participate fully in its future sessions.

Timber

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to encourage local authorities to source timber only from legal and sustainable sources.

Elliot Morley: The Department is working with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and the Improvement and Development Agency to raise awareness of sustainable procurement, including timber. My right hon. Friend (Mr. Meacher) wrote to local authority chief executives on 19 September, as explained in his previous answers of 27 January 2003, Official Report, column 564W, and 24 February 2003, Official Report, column 98W. He followed that letter up with a further one of 7 April 2003 to those that did not reply. A number of further replies have been received that indicate a generally positive picture in terms of their strategies for procuring timber.

Tyres

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on recent discussions her Department has had with the retread tyre industry.

Elliot Morley: Ministers and officials in the Department hold numerous meetings with many and varied interests. However, as tyres are the responsibility of the Department of Trade and Industry, there have been no meetings with the retread tyre industry for some considerable time.

Waste Management

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the recycling rates for unitary authorities in England are; and what the improvement target for each is.

Elliot Morley: The information requested can be found on the Best Value Performance Indicator Website of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, reference: www.bvpi.gov.uk

Waste Management

Jonathan Sayeed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what action her Department plans to take against those local authorities who fail to meet their recycling targets and continue to export waste out of their area of responsibility for landfill; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: The Secretary of State has powers under section 15 of the Local Government Act 1999 to act where authorities are failing to deliver best value. The way in which these powers would be used in support of statutory performance standards for recycling and composting of household waste is set out in Annex A of Guidance on Municipal Waste Management Strategies (DETR March 2001); http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/waste/management/guidance/mwms/index.htm The use of these powers will be considered where appropriate in support of the recycling targets. The Government have made clear that they will work with local authorities to ensure that failures are minimised, and that the principles that underpin the Waste Strategy, including the waste hierarchy and the proximity principle, are reflected in municipal waste management strategies.

Waste Management

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the waste sites and their addresses in the Leeds Metropolitan District, indicating those which have submitted hazardous waste landfill conditioning plans to the Environment Agency.

Elliot Morley: The information requested is set out in the following table.
	
		
			 Licence holder Site address District Holder address Grid reference CP reference number Company group LFD cIass 
		
		
			 CF Harris Limited Blackhill Road, Arthington, West Yorkshire LS21 1PZ Leeds High Street, South Milford, Leeds LS25 5AA SE 269437 61241 CF Harris Limited Inert 
			 Caird Bardon Ltd. Ridge Road, Micklefield, Leeds, W. Yorks LS25 4DW Leeds Bardon Hill, Coalville, Leicestershire LE67 1TL SE 434000325000 61354 Shanks  McEwan Ltd. Interim Hazardous 
			 Marshalls Plc Dewsbury Road, Woodkirk, Leeds, West Yorkshire WF12 7SS Leeds Howley Park Brickworks, Quarry Lane, Woodkirk, Dewsbury WF12 7JJ SE 264255 61121 Marshalls Plc Non Hazardous 
			 Mone Brothers Limited Kings Road, Bramhope, Leeds, West Yorkshire LS16 8BG Leeds Albert Road, Morley, Leeds, West Yorkshire LS27 8RU SE 269400423100 61148 Mone Brothers Limited Inert 
			 P. Casey Enviro Ltd. Ring Road, Horsforth, Leeds, West Yorkshire Leeds Rydings Road, Rochdale, Lancashire OL12 9PS SE 254000384000 61347 P. Casey Enviro Ltd. Inert 
			 Biffa Waste Services Limited Howley Park, Quarry Lane, Dewsbury, West Yorkshire WF12 7JJ Leeds Coronation Road, Cressex, High Wycombe, Bucks HP123TZ SE 26310053650 61400 Biffa Waste Services Ltd. Interim Hazardous 
			 Marshalls Plc Wakefield Road, Swillington, Leeds, West Yorkshire LS26 8BI Leeds Birkby Grange, Birkby Hall Road, Birkby, Huddersfield HD2 2YA SE 386100315600 65108 Marshalls Non Hazardous 
			 Yorkshire Water Services Limited Knostrop WWTW, Knowsthorpe Lane, Leeds LS9 OPJ Leeds Western House, Western Way, Halifax Road, Bradford BD6 2SZ SE 340000304000 65116 Yorkshire Water Services Limited Non Hazardous 
			 British Waterways Board Land N/W of Woodlesford Lock, Leeds, West Yorkshire Leeds Lock Lane, Castleford, West Yorkshire WF10 2LH SE 363000297000 65162 British Waterways Non Hazardous 
			 Biffa Waste Services Ltd. Pontefract Lane, Rothwell, Leeds LS159AD Leeds Coronation Road, Cressex, High Wycombe, Bucks HP12 3TZ SE 362400305000 BJ9340 Biffa Interim Hazardous 
			 British Waterways Board Thwaite Gate, Leeds Leeds Lock Lane, West Yorkshire WF10 2LH SE 327312 61492 British Waterways Non Hazardous

Waste Management

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many applications for modifications to waste management licences were received by the Environment Agency or its predecessor regulatory authority in each year since 1990.

Elliot Morley: The Environment Agency only has reliable information on waste management licence modifications from 19992000. Details are as follows:
	19992000 334
	200001 264
	200102 236
	Information for 200203 is not available as the Agency no longer collects data in this form.

Waste Management

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what guidelines the Environment Agency uses to determine acceptable distances between (a) waste disposal and (b) landfill sites and neighbouring housing.

Elliot Morley: The initial decision on the location of waste facilities is a planning matter. Planning permission, which is a prerequisite for a waste management licence or a waste facility PPC permit from the Agency, can be refused if the local authority consider the site being proposed is in an inappropriate location.
	In dealing with its own licences/permits, the Agency adopts a site specific risk based approach on the SourcePathwayReceptor principle and applies permit conditions accordingly, including monitoring requirements with indicative trigger levels which initiate specified actions by the site operator.
	Many existing waste sites have licences granted by predecessor authorities, based on a variety of approaches to the proximity of houses. The location of all occupied property is taken into account through the Operator and Pollution Risk Appraisal (OPRA) scheme, which determines the frequency of Agency inspections to individual waste sites. The higher the risk the site poses and the closer occupied premises are located, the higher the OPRA score and, therefore, the more frequent the inspections.

Waste Management

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the prosecutions brought by the Environment Agency or by predecessor regulatory authorities for breaking the conditions of (a) management site licences and (b) management site licences for bonded asbestos since 1990, broken down by (i) address of site and (ii) type of waste; and which prosecutions were successful.

Elliot Morley: The Environment Agency has supplied the relevant data which will be placed in the House Library.

Waste Management

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the Environment Agency's agreed amount of waste tonnage per year processed under site management licences is in (a) Leeds Metropolitan District and (b) West Yorkshire.

Elliot Morley: The Environment Agency is unable to provide the information in the form requested. However, the following information may be helpful in making a comparison.
	In the year 200001, 632,912 tonnes of waste passed through waste transfer stations in the Leeds area compared to 1,543,799 tonnes in West Yorkshire as a whole (Bradford471,162 tonnes; Calderdale142,069 tonnes; Kirklees233,847 tonnes; and Wakefield63,809 tonnes).
	In the same period, 243,724 tonnes of waste passed through waste treatment facilities in the Leeds area compared to 427,226 tonnes in West Yorkshire as a whole (Bradford4,045 tonnes; Calderdale806 tonnes; Kirklees12,794 tonnes; and Wakefield165,857 tonnes).

Waste Management

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the registered licensed waste disposal and landfill sites in the Leeds Metropolitan District area.

Elliot Morley: The Environment Agency has supplied the relevant data which will be placed in the House Library.

Waste Management

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the average operator pollution risk appraisal score for waste disposal and landfill sites was in England in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Elliot Morley: The average OPRA score for all landfill sites in the calendar year 2002 was 64.27.
	The average for non landfills was 66.33.
	The average for all sites was 65.70.

Waste Management

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when municipal solid waste incinerators have been found to be operating in breach of conditions on their operations imposed by (a) planning consents and (b) pollution control consents in each year since 1997; and what assessment was made of the potential damage to the health of local residents in each case.

Elliot Morley: The numbers of unauthorised releases recorded by the Environment Agency for municipal waste incinerators since 1997 are shown in the tables.
	Municipal waste incineration plant operators are required by their permits to notify the Agency of any breaches of emission limits. Upon receipt of the notification Agency staff make an assessment of the likely effect of the breach on human health and the environment. The Agency considers that none of the breaches has had any significant effect on human health or the environment.
	With respect to the number of breaches of planning consents, this is the responsibility of the local planning authorities in whose areas the incinerators are located. My officials are making inquiries of the appropriate local planning authorities and I shall write to the hon. Member as soon as possible with the outcome of this exercise.
	
		MWIs: Number of unauthorised releases and enforcement actions
		
			 1 January31 December 2003 HCI SO2 NOx CO PM CdT1 
		
		
			 Dudley (MES) 2 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Wolverhampton (MES) 0 1 0 1 0 0 
			 Billingham (SITA) 0 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Coventry (CS WDC) 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Tyseley (Onyx) 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Nottingham (WRE) 1 1 0 1 0 0 
			 Sheffield (Onyx) 0 0 0 1 0 0 
			 Stoke (MES) 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Edmonton (LW) 1 0 0 4 0 0 
			 Lewisham (Onyx Selchp) 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Bolton (GMW) 0 0 0 1 0 0 
			 Huddersfield (SITA) 1 0 0 2 0 0 
			 Crumlyn Burrows (HLC) 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Total 5 3 0 10 0 0 
		
	
	
		MWIs: Number of unauthorised releases and enforcement actions
		
			 1 January31 December 2003 Hg Other metals HF Dioxins VOCs NH3 Total exceedances 
		
		
			 Dudley (MES) 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 
			 Wolverhampton (MES) 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 
			 Billingham (SITA) 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 
			 Coventry (CS WDC) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Tyseley (Onyx) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Nottingham (WRE) 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 
			 Sheffield (Onyx) 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 
			 Stoke (MES) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Edmonton (LW) 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 
			 Lewisham (Onyx Selchp) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Bolton (GMW) 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 
			 Huddersfield (SITA) 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 
			 Crumlyn Burrows (HLC) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Total 0 0 0 1 0 0 19 
		
	
	
		MWIs: Number of unauthorised releases and enforcement actions
		
			 1 January31 December 2002 HCI SO2 NOx CO PM CdT1 
		
		
			 Dudley (MES) 11 0 1 0 0 0 
			 Wolverhampton (MES) 2 0 0 1 0 0 
			 Billingham (SITA) 2 11 3 11 2 0 
			 Coventry (CS WDC) 2 1 0 2 0 0 
			 Tyseley (Onyx) 0 0 0 2 0 0 
			 Nottingham (WRE) 2 0 8 2 3 0 
			 Sheffield (Onyx) 2 0 0 17 0 0 
			 Stoke (MES) 1 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Edmonton (LW) 2 0 0 8 0 0 
			 Lewisham (Onyx Selchp) 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Bolton (GMW) 1 2 0 0 0 0 
			 Huddersfield (SITA) 4 3 0 14 0 0 
			 Total 29 17 12 57 5 0 
		
	
	
		MWIs: Number of unauthorised releases and enforcement actions
		
			 1 January31 December 2002 Hg Other metals HF Dioxins VOCs NH3 Total exceedances 
		
		
			 Dudley (MES) 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 
			 Wolverhampton (MES) 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 
			 Billingham (SITA) 0 1 0 0 0 0 30 
			 Coventry (CS WDC) 0 0 0 0 4 0 9 
			 Tyseley (Onyx) 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 
			 Nottingham (WRE) 0 0 0 0 0 0 15 
			 Sheffield (Onyx) 0 0 0 0 0 0 19 
			 Stoke (MES) 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 
			 Edmonton (LW) 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 
			 Lewisham (Onyx Selchp) 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 
			 Bolton (GMW) 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 
			 Huddersfield (SITA) 0 0 0 0 0 0 21 
			 Total 0 1 0 1 4 0 126 
		
	
	
		MWIs: Number of unauthorised releases and enforcement actions
		
			 1 January31 December 2000 HCI SO2 NOx CO PM CdT1 
		
		
			 Dudley (MES) 12 0 2 0 0 0 
			 Wolverhampton (MES) 1 1 1 4 2 0 
			 Billingham (SITA) 1 0 0 1 1 0 
			 Coventry (CS WDC) 7 0 0 4 2 0 
			 Tyseley (Onyx) 5 0 1 2 0 0 
			 Nottingham (WRE) 7 6 16 0 0 0 
			 Sheffield 15 3 5 22 0 0 
			 Stoke (MES) 9 3 1 2 0 0 
			 Edmonton (LW) 0 0 0 9 0 0 
			 Lewisham (Onyx Selchp) 0 0 1 0 0 0 
			 Bolton (GMW) 3 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Total 60 13 27 44 5 0 
		
	
	
		MWIs: Number of unauthorised releases and enforcement actions
		
			 1 January31 December 2000 Hg Other metals HF Dioxins VOCs NH3 Total exceedances 
		
		
			 Dudley (MES) 0 0 0 0   14 
			 Wolverhampton (MES) 0 0 0 0   9 
			 Billingham (SITA) 0 0 0 0   3 
			 Coventry (CS WDC) 0 0 0 0   13 
			 Tyseley (Onyx) 0 0 0 0   8 
			 Nottingham (WRE) 0 0 0 0   29 
			 Sheffield 0 0 0 0   45 
			 Stoke (MES) 0 0 0 0   15 
			 Edmonton (LW) 0 0 0 0   9 
			 Lewisham (Onyx Selchp) 0 0 0 0   1 
			 Bolton (GMW) 0 0 0 0   3 
			 Total 0 0 0 0   149 
		
	
	Note:
	Collection of ammonia and VOCs data was not required by the Environment Agency until 2002 when they were included to ensure compliance with the requirements of the then, forthcoming, Waste Incineration Directive.
	
		MWIs: Number of unauthorised releases and enforcement actions
		
			 1 January31 December 2001 HCI SO2 NOx CO PM CdT1 
		
		
			 Dudley (MES) 10 1 1 0 1 0 
			 Wolverhampton (MES) 4 0 1 2 2 0 
			 Billingham (SITA) 1 1 2 20 1 0 
			 Coventry (CS WDC) 29 2 3 57 3 0 
			 Tyseley (Onyx) 0 0 1 2 0 0 
			 Nottingham (WRE) 2 0 4 0 0 0 
			 Sheffield 14 1 0 21 0 0 
			 Stoke (MES) 12 1 1 1 0 0 
			 Edmonton (LW) 2 0 6 29 2 0 
			 Lewisham (Onyx Selchp) 0 0 0 0 1 0 
			 Bolton (GMW) 5 0 0 3 1 0 
			 Total 79 6 19 135 11 0 
		
	
	
		MWIs: Number of unauthorised releases and enforcement actions
		
			 1 January31 December 2001 Hg Other metals HF Dioxins VOCs NH3 Total exceedances 
		
		
			 Dudley (MES) 0 0 0 0   13 
			 Wolverhampton (MES) 0 0 0 0   9 
			 Billingham (SITA) 0 0 0 0   25 
			 Coventry (CS WDC) 0 0 0 0   94 
			 Tyseley (Onyx) 0 0 0 0   3 
			 Nottingham (WRE) 0 0 0 0   6 
			 Sheffield 0 0 0 0   36 
			 Stoke (MES) 0 0 0 0   15 
			 Edmonton (LW) 0 0 0 0   39 
			 Lewisham (Onyx Selchp) 0 0 0 0   1 
			 Bolton (GMW) 0 0 0 0   9 
			 Total 0 0 0 0   250 
		
	
	Note:
	Collection of ammonia and VOCs data was not required by the Environment Agency until 2002 when they were included to ensure compliance with the requirements of the then, forthcoming, Waste Incineration Directive.
	
		MWIs: Number of unauthorised releases and enforcement actions
		
			 1 January31 December 1999 HCI SO2 NOx CO PM CdT1 
		
		
			 Dudley (MES) 54 6 0 1 0 0 
			 Wolverhampton (MES) 23 13 0 4 0 0 
			 Billingham (SITA) 0 0 0 1 1 0 
			 Coventry (CS WDC) 8 0 12 33 0 0 
			 Tyseley (Onyx) 4 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Nottingham (WRE) 6 8 8 0 0 0 
			 Sheffield 17 8 6 64 1 0 
			 Stoke (MES) 19 5 2 1 1 0 
			 Edmonton (LW) 7 0 0 3 0 0 
			 Lewisham (Onyx Selchp) 4 2 1 0 0 0 
			 Bolton (GMW) 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Total 142 42 29 107 3 0 
		
	
	
		MWIs: Number of unauthorised releases and enforcement actions
		
			 1 January31 December 1999 Hg Other metals HF Dioxins VOCs NH3 Total exceedances 
		
		
			 Dudley (MES) 0 0 0 0   61 
			 Wolverhampton (MES) 0 0 0 1   41 
			 Billingham (SITA) 1 0 0 0   3 
			 Coventry (CS WDC) 0 0 0 0   53 
			 Tyseley (Onyx) 0 0 0 0   4 
			 Nottingham (WRE) 0 0 0 0   22 
			 Sheffield 0 0 0 0   96 
			 Stoke (MES) 0 0 0 0   28 
			 Edmonton (LW) 0 0 0 0   10 
			 Lewisham (Onyx Selchp) 0 0 0 0   7 
			 Bolton (GMW) 0 0 0 0   0 
			 Total 1 0 0 1   325 
		
	
	Note:
	Collection of ammonia and VOCs data was not required by the Environment Agency until 2002 when they were included to ensure compliance with the requirements of the then, forthcoming, Waste Incineration Directive.
	
		MWIs: Number of unauthorised releases and enforcement actions
		
			 1 January 199631 December 1998 HCI SO2 NOx CO PM CdT1 
		
		
			 Dudley (MES) 58 1 0 0 8 0 
			 Wolverhampton (MES) 28 0 0 0 1 0 
			 Billingham (SITA) 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Coventry (CS WDC) 0 0 0 0 1 0 
			 Tyseley (Onyx) 90 0 23 19 0 0 
			 Nottingham (WRE) 13 2 3 1 2 0 
			 Sheffield 7 4 7 42 2 0 
			 Stoke (MES) 12 1 1 3 2 0 
			 Edmonton (LW) 1 3 0 0 0 0 
			 Lewisham (Onyx Selchp) 93 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Bolton (GMW) 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Total 302 11 34 65 16 0 
		
	
	
		MWIs: Number of unauthorised releases and enforcement actions
		
			 1 January 199631 December 1998 Hg Other metals HF Dioxins VOCs NH3 Total exceedances 
		
		
			 Dudley (MES) 0 0 0 0   67 
			 Wolverhampton (MES) 0 0 0 0   29 
			 Billingham (SITA) 0 0 1 0   1 
			 Coventry (CS WDC) 0 0 0 0   1 
			 Tyseley (Onyx) 0 0 0 0   132 
			 Nottingham (WRE) 0 0 0 0   21 
			 Sheffield 0 0 0 0   62 
			 Stoke (MES) 0 0 0 0   19 
			 Edmonton (LW) 0 0 0 0   4 
			 Lewisham (Onyx Selchp) 0 0 0 0   93 
			 Bolton (GMW) 0 0 0 0   0 
			 Total 0 0 1 0   429 
		
	
	Note:
	Data are expressed for 1996, 1997 and 1998 inclusive.
	Collection of ammonia and VOCs data was not required by the Environment Agency until 2002 when they were included to ensure compliance with the requirements of the then, forthcoming, Waste Incineration Directive.

Waste Management

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to her answer of 17 March 2003, Official Report, column 506W, on waste management, whether the data used in the answer are the same as that given in the part of the Environment Agency Register of Waste Management Licences that applies to monitoring of emissions.

Elliot Morley: The municipal waste incinerators listed in the answer are regulated under Part 1 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 or the under the Pollution Prevention and Control Regulations (SI2000 No. 1973). Incinerator operators are required by conditions of authorisations issued under these pieces of legislation to report breaches of air emission limit values. The data in the answer are derived from these self-reported breaches to the Environment Agency .
	The registers holding the data used in the answer are not the same as the data held as part of the Environment Agency Register of Waste Management Licences, which are kept under Part 2 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Justices of the Peace

Bob Russell: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, how much was paid in attendance allowances to justices of the peace in each of the last 10 financial years; and how much she estimates will be allocated in the current financial year.

Christopher Leslie: Lay justices of the peace are volunteers. They do not receive allowances for sitting in magistrates courts, but they are entitled to claim a financial loss allowance in certain circumstances, together with travel and other out of pocket expenses.

Mental Capacity Legislation

Angela Browning: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, what representations she has received asking her to introduce mental capacity legislation; and if she will make a statement.

David Lammy: I have received many such representations from Members of Parliament, members of the public, representative organisations and others. Recently, members of the Making Decisions Alliance have been lobbying the Department and we have received over 7,800 postcards in support of legislation. My Department is currently preparing a draft Mental Incapacity Bill for publication, based on our Policy Statement 'Making Decisions'. We will introduce legislation when parliamentary time allows.

Mental Capacity Legislation

Angela Browning: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, what plans the Department has to draft a Bill on mental capacity.

David Lammy: My Department is currently preparing a draft Mental Incapacity Bill for publication, based on our Policy Statement 'Making Decisions'. We will introduce legislation when parliamentary time allows.